This Is My Fate
by Mythia-san
Summary: Nanami Haruka was found murdered in a warehouse in May, leaving STARISH devastated. Without her, their music amd lives would never be the same. So with the help of the muses, Cecil had the ability to send a STARISH member one at a time into the past, where they could change Nanami's fate, though the choices they must face could result in the same death. [CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE]
1. This Isn't Over!

**Quick Author's Note**

**Time: Season 2/Maji Love 2000%**

**Original Author: Kawaii Dream (Original: _This Is My Fate_)**

**Adopted Rewrite: Mythia-san (received permission!)**

**Notes: T****his story can and will be adjusted so that you can vote on a different route than the original! I have some ideas for this, and that's why I have wanted to get ahold of this story immediately.**

**HOW IT WORKS: For**_** every other chapter, there are choice chapters. You as the reader are given a choice at the end of each choice chapter, in which you determine one of the character's actions - which in turn determines Nanami Haruka's fate. You must vote in your review, and only through your review (I won't take PMs, sorry!), and whichever choice gets voted most is written on the following chapter - the result chapter. That chapter will either reveal a good ending or a bad ending. So choose wisely :)**_

**_Disclaimer:_ I gain no profit from this story! The characters belong to _Uta no Prince-sama_ and its respective owners, while the plot up to Natsuki's choice chapter is mostly _Kawaii Dream_'s ideas. I am, however, the one who's writing this myself, and what I earn from it is more writing experience and improvement. I will also continue where the original author left off, in which the plot ideas are mine.**

* * *

There was an unexpected chill in the room, as music producer Shining Saotome told STARISH to meet in a private room. There was only a couch with a table in front of it, with three boxes of tissues on it. The room was a bit dark, and rather simple to some of their refined tastes as idols, but Aijima Cecil leapt onto the couch nonetheless. He didn't seem to notice the dark atmosphere, though he hid it well if he did.

Kurusu Syo, eyeing the couch suspiciously, stepped back when Cecil suddenly yelped. The foreign prince's eyes turned a bright shade of green, as if to glow in the darkness, and stood up only to grab the thing he sat abruptly on.

It was a TV remote, probably for the flatscreen television on the wall.

"Give me that," Syo snapped, exasperated, as he snatched the remote while Cecil howled in pain and rubbed his sensitive butt. The door was shut behind them, and none of them assumed that they could get out, until they watched what was on the now-glowing screen.

It instantly turned on to the news. The bright screen made STARISH's eyes dilate and squint, only for their sight to focus squarely on the headlines.

_'STARISH COMPOSER NANAMI HARUKA FOUND DEAD...'_

STARISH was silent, initially finding the sight ridiculous but then worrying that they needed to get their eyes checked. Strangely enough, Cecil narrowed his eyes at the news, but then his body shook at the realization.

"What... what a joke," started Ichinose Tokiya, not believing it for a second in his mind, but his heart felt heavy. He resisted to give into this false belief in his heart. Ittoki looked over the conflicted man, feeling the same way, but finding himself unable to verbally express it.

As everyone's attentive and alarmed minds watched and listened more carefully, the details were described. Haruka died several days ago, and yet no one found her until recent. STARISH assumed, from what she said prior to her murder, that the late composer was going on vacation back to her grandmother's house for several days, and yet...

"This looks too real - but - " Syo utterly refused to believe it. "I mean come on! Prez probably is doing this to show our crying faces and release it into the crazy fan world - "

"Syo-chan, I don't think..." From his cracked voice, Shinomiya Natsuki was the second attention. Hot tears formed in his confused, green eyes, and he tried to hide them under the cloudiness of his glasses. Syo, nearly giving in to the heart attack in his chest, was taken aback at Natsuki's expression.

"This is real," Cecil finally said. "We cannot deny it, everyone! This is - it _can't_ _be_, but - it _is_ \- !"

Natsuki's dam of tears finally crumbled and gave in.

Jingugi Ren and Hijirikawa Masato, silent this whole time, glanced back at Natsuki simultaneously before exchanging concerned glances at each other. Their eyes focused back on the screen, finding no dead body shown but the murder location of a secluded warehouse airing.

A click was heard from the door, and Saotome stepped in with a rather grim look. It wasn't the normal Saotome, who would've entered in a dramatic, grand entrance, so STARISH almost didn't believe it was him at all.

"STARISH," he began, slurring unenthusiastically (and rather gravely), "as you can see... Miss Nanami is no longer around. I cannot say this any other way, so bear with me."

"Wh - What?" Ittoki whispered, barely finding his voice. STARISH's minds were overheating at the fact that they couldn't comprehend.

_Nanami Haruka is... dead?_

Saotome let a moment of silence linger in the air, mustering up proper words for why he came. "From this tragic news, we will appoint a new composer," announced he. "However, I have released all of you from your contract, so you may step down as idols and retire early. I will have someone to take care of the mess if that were to be done."

Syo, unable to think, desperately clawed at his locks, with his hat and red clips bluntly plopping to the ground. Natsuki and Ittoki could hardly fend off the trauma already invading their minds and bodies. Cecil looked very lost, as if he was trying to translate it in his head, but he knew the Japanese he was hearing very well.

The calmer idols of STARISH were in similar states inwardly. Tokiya's mind flashed back to all the memories he had with Haruka, all at once, giving him a headache. Ren's heart was pounding irrationally in his chest, his throat constricted and his lungs begging for air. Masato's everything stopped, his mind a blank sheet.

"STARISH," said Saotome, jolting each and every one of them. "Your music shall not be the same without Miss Nanami. _However_! If you do decide to leave because of that, then think about living life with all of the disappointed fans that were counting on you. You must also think about what you'd do with your life now that you've left your dream."

For a moment, they thought of it. But Syo cried, "Oh, _screw with it_," and threw the TV remote at the television. It left a bright light for a brief second, with the screen's light making lines of different colors, but it reverted to its normal programming soon after. The blonde continued to pull at his hair, making loud, strained noises.

"Saotome," Tokiya started, his breath heavy, "Nanami-san... she's really dead?"

"I'm afraid so, Mistar Ichinose."

The room was deathly silent upon hearing this. It was as if saying anything would cause the tension to burst into chaos, and everyone would sob at that second, including Saotome.

So Saotome turned on his heel, sniffing. "Well, I best be going! Goodbye, STARISH!" And with that, he was gone.

Natsuki bawled, with Ittoki following not a minute after. Syo was screaming gibberish, and Cecil began speaking in his foreign language. Tokiya fell on his knees, clutching at his locks from the pain, while Ren repeated the question in his mind, _Nanami Haruka is really dead?_

Masato slowly took the remote from the floor in his pale hands, and turned off the television. The room felt distant from the light and love that once shined and poured out.

None of them believed it in their minds, but they all could feel the truth pouring out of their tears from their hearts.

* * *

Ittoki Otoya couldn't stop crying, even when he had no tears left.

Piles of blankets stacked up and surrounded his trembling body, as he wept in his room. Tokiya decided to go outside, not wanting to see Ittoki's lack of usual cheerfulness.

The redhead instantly missed Haruka, with her wondrous music, her soft, rose hair... her honey eyes... he missed it all. His heart had a huge, irreplaceable hole in it.

"_D*mmit!_" he cried, shoving his face in his bed. "_Where was she when this happened!? What was she doing in a warehouse in the middle of - d*mmit, just d*mn it all!_"

The world felt like it was spinning, as Ittoki doubled over and lurched and swung his body to and fro, as if trying to ease out some humanity in him. It didn't feel real, and yet it was served cold in his trembling hands. All of a sudden, he felt dirty. For what reason, he didn't know.

Life felt pointless. What _was_ life without Nanami Haruka, the girl who brought new colors into his monochrome world? Who made snow seem so much more beautiful and fun to play with that winter day when they first met? The thing about her that made him feel so comfortable with her calming presence, in the midst of insanity and silliness?

Now, the silliness had ceased, and the old insanity that was fun to join in was replaced with a new insanity that bullied the very depths of Ittoki Otoya's fragile soul. The way it was fabricated was way too delicate and unmanly, to his chagrin.

Life was dangling Haruka on puppet strings and decided to sadistically yank her away, to a place she didn't belong to just yet. Ittoki was left floored, and not in a good way.

There was a knock on the door. It was Shibuya Tomochika, sloppily wearing ripped white jeans, a cheap gray tee, worn ankle boots and a blue jacket.

"I..." Tomochika held up a plastic bag of ice cream and a spoon. "I just thought, that maybe, you'd like some of this."

Ittoki glanced at the ice cream with puffy eyes, then at Tomochika's eyes. Her face was pale, her magenta eyes dilated, her makeup messily applied, her hair scruffier than usual. There were red rims around her eyes. She was crying too.

"You can have it, Shibuya-san," he mumbled under the sheets, tucking himself away. The room was awfully dark.

Tomochika scowled, holding back tears. "You are the most cheerful of STARISH. For you to sulk like some d*mn coward..." She sighed, and breathed in shakily. A manicured hard rested at her temple. "I'm sorry. We're all going through the first stages of trying to cope here. Just life without... never mind."

She dropped the ice cream and spoon on the table beside Ittoki's bed, and left. Ittoki lifted his head to see Tomo-chan's fleeting back. Her hips didn't sway like they normally did, and her positive and sassy atmosphere was utterly crushed like it never existed.

Nanami Haruka's effect on them all was heavy. Ittoki would never forgive her.

_That's why I need to bring you back, Nanami. Or else I'm a dead man._

* * *

Aijima Cecil stood up, wiping the staining tears from his eyes. "I've had enough."

Camus lifted his head from the classic novel he was reading. He hadn't been crying, but he did give in to the depressing atmosphere quite a bit, and rewarded himself with a few days of respective peace. "Enough of what?" he questioned, upset at the ruined peace.

Cecil glared at his senpai. "Don't play dumb! I've had enough of Haruka being dead!"

Camus arched a brow. "What do you mean, you crazy fool?"

"What I _mean_ is," Cecil said, as he lifted up his glowing necklace, "that it's time we save Haruka and bring her back."

The room was far from silent afterwards. Camus watched as Cecil bolted out of the dorm room with a yank of the door handle. His frantic, fleeting figure flashed before Camus' icy gaze. He didn't know why, but he heard a soft, muffled voice as time seemed to slow. Cecil's shouts were sounding quite hazy.

Before he realized it, the count could no longer feel the book on top of his hand, nor could he read the words on the pages. He blinked for clarity, but instead found something staining the book. _Tears?_ he wondered, smiling bleakly. _Since when did she have an effect on me?_

He closed the book slowly and closed his eyes. He cracked an eye open, glancing at the cup of refined tea beside him. He reached out, sipped it, and wondered why it was still so warm.

_Nanami Haruka, I respect your effect on them. I respect your effect on us all._

* * *

"You're _crazy,_ you know that?"

"I've been told!" Cecil exclaimed. "But dear STARISH, what if I told you that I knew how to save our precious Haruka?"

The room froze. "Excuse me?" Syo spoke, aghast. The rest of STARISH had similar thoughts.

"I don't understand why you guys haven't started believing in the things that I say when you've seen me do many supernatural things," Cecil grumbled for a moment, before pulling the necklace from his head.

"Maybe it has to do with your Japanese? Maybe you said something wrong, huh?" Syo offered, before growing eerily silent. The necklace glowed to the point where the room was blinded by the light.

"Give that to me." Ren reached out and snatched the necklace, covering its light. The amulet, thankfully, wasn't as hot as it was bright.

"So... you're saying that we can save Haru-chan?" Natsuki whispered, feeling the waterworks sporting a few leaks into his hopeful green eyes.

"Of course," Cecil claimed with a determined look. "The muses have sent me a message, saying that Princess Haruka is the only one who can make our music shine. Without her, STARISH would cease to exist."

"STARISH wouldn't even exist to begin with," Masato muttered, the horror struck to them all far too late.

Aijima Cecil then delivered the driving point: "The muses have granted me power to go back in time. We will change Haruka's fate."

No one felt like crying at all at that very moment on. Their minds were blank and empty and full and clear, all at the same time, and they all looked at Ren's hand with the glowing necklace. Ren opened his palm, and the necklace was back to normal, with its teal-indigo hue.

"Hold on..." Tokiya stepped forward, and all eyes were on him. "You mean to say that we can time travel?"

"Only to moments when Princess Haruka was alive, yes," Cecil responded. "The muses have tried with all of their power to achieve this."

"What about the consequences to time traveling? Paradoxes of meeting our past selves? Going all together at once?" Tokiya questioned. Ren inwardly tensed, becoming conscious of these questions.

Cecil shook his head, rubbing his tanned neck. "We're not going all at once. We're actually going one at a time. Also, you're going into your past self, so whatever you were doing then, you'll be going to where you were doing what you were doing," he tried to explain, which just led to more questions.

"What if we meet our past members?"

"I'd advise you to try not to run into them as much as possible. Also, we should avoid telling anyone that we're from the future."

"What if our past members know about what happens in the future?"

"Then it'd cause our memories to be altered now. We don't know what would happen afterwards."

"What if we save Haruka? That would cause a time paradox, wouldn't it?"

"It won't. Yes, we will lose our memories of the incident altogether. However... the one who saves Haruka will not forget, and neither will Haruka."

The room fell silent once more. Then, Cecil spoke, "The muses are giving us a time span of three hours into the past, and no more. It's difficult to bend time and space to that moment, and it won't always be accurate, so it could be a few hours or days before her death, even a few weeks. The muses say that we have three chances each."

_Three chances?_ Ittoki sniffed, his breathing heavy. _What if I use up those three chances and I don't... no. Three chances is more than enough. Surely I can save her. **Nanami, I will see your smile again and everyone else! So give me a chance!**_

_Why is my heart heavy?_ Ren sighed quietly, running his hand through his long, golden locks. When he opened his eyes, he braced himself. **_Little Lamb, stay strong and wait for me. I shall save you, for you... you are the beat of my heart._**

_Who killed you?_ Natsuki was far from ready, but he had to face the challenge given to him. Otherwise, he'd never see her again. He only wanted what's best for her, and death surely wasn't it. _**Haru-chan! I will make sure you live a happy and peaceful life, so don't die on me!**_

_Where did you go?_ Masato sucked in a deep breath, and exhaled. His feelings were an eternal prison in his heart until her death. He never even told her the things he thought he had a lifetime to say. _**Nanami-san... please don't die on me. Grant me my wish for you to come back.**_

_How can you disappear like this?_ Syo was upset. D*mn right he should've been. Her death was nowhere near justified, it wasn't time for her. Someone took her life away, all too quickly too. **_Nanami, I will protect you always at all costs. So don't leave us! Don't leave me!_**

_What makes you think you can die on us?_ Tokiya tugged at his hair. His mind was scattered, but he was desperately willing to pick up his pieces and save his princess. _**Nanami-san... you don't deserve death. I will do my best to prevent it all from happening.**_

_When will you be back here? Now?_ Cecil took the necklace from Ren, and gripped his own hand, lifting the necklace up to his forehead. _**Wait for me, my Princess Haruka. I won't let you leave us alone.**_

_**You are our life, you are our breath. You don't know it, but we will tell you. So stay with us.**_

Each and every one of the guys believed that they would bring Haruka back, even if it could cost them their lives.

"Failure is not an option, everyone," Cecil said seriously.

"That goes without saying," agreed Tokiya, nodding and preparing to leave. STARISH dispersed. Half of them still couldn't wrap their minds around what they were thinking and saying, but their hearts spoke for themselves. They needed their other half with them. Living without a leg, arm, and half a heart was as despicable as living undead.

Cecil mumbled his prayers before he stepped outside. The air felt fresh. He knew he heard the whispers of Haruka in his mind, as if she were still beside him.

_Good luck, Cecil-san_, was what she'd say. Tears pricked his bright eyes, as he clutched his shirt over his heart.

_**We're coming. Wait for us, Nanami Haruka.**_

* * *

**Notes: This is not a choice chapter. Also, please support Kawaii Dream's fanfics if you haven't already! :)**

**Originally written on: June 2, 2014**

**Revised on: April 19, 2016**


	2. Ittoki Otoya

**Mythia: Thank you for your favorites/follows/reviews! I'm glad that there are people out there who are supporting me with this fanfic, and since there was an original, this version might be easier to update. :)**

**There was a reviewer who asked if this was a 'Choose Your Own Adventure' story, and yes it is! The votes can be going in~! I wonder if you're going to choose the same choice or a different one...hehehe...**

**Note: This was updated quickly because I really want to go with the voting~! KYAA~!**

* * *

It was a normal, regular morning, right?

Wrong.

It was the morning after Nanami Haruka had died. All of the guys had created plans to save Haruka when going back to the past, and one mere failure would mean a possible death for Haruka again.

What if only one guy failed, and instead of dying by being kidnapped and murdered, it was changed into a different death like being drowned or hanged? Maybe that one failure could save her life, for if they succeeded, she could have died.

This was a gamble with life and death, success or failure. Haruka's fate could maybe even be unchangeable. One guy may even end up dead in place of Nanami's death.

But you never know unless you try, right? Besides that, the members of STARISH were undoubtedly willing to do anything to save their princess, to be that knight in shining armor for her.

Through only determination and hopeful wishes, the guys will go back in time one at a time today.

So yeah, this was _definitely _not a regular morning at all.

It was the morning the first time traveler will travel through time. This was the morning that will show everyone if the first travel was successful or a failure.

But then, how would ANYONE know what they do in the past was a success or failure? This was an unanswerable question, never to be answered.

Nanami Haruka's fate was now in the hands of STARISH.

* * *

**Ittoki Otoya**

"I...I want to go first!" the redhead exclaimed.

The STARISH members were gathered at the lobby, discussing who should be the first to go to the past. They all had stopped their conversation and stared at the usually cheerful and easygoing boy, surprised that her wanted to go first.

Nobody wanted to go first, it was always likely to be the failed mission because there was no information on where Nanami was _before_ she was killed.

There was also no information on why she was kidnapped. The murderer had ran away, not getting caught.

It irked Ittoki to think that someone who killed Nanami had ran away, still living in this world and never to be found.

He clenched his hand into a fist and put on a determined look on his face, despite the fear still dwelling within.

"I...I won't forgive the person who killed Nanami!" Ittoki shouted. "I want to go first and find out where Nanami was before she was killed! I...w-want to see Nanami's smile again..." He felt his red eyes water, but he feverishly wiped them away.

_I am brave_, he thought. _I...believe I can save Nanami. I am confident._

The guys looked at Ittoki with satisfied expressions. "Otoya, you're a good guy. I know you can save Nanami," Syo said to him for encouragement.

The I in STARISH felt his confidence grow as everyone nodded in agreement at Syo's statement.

_I can do it. __I need to believe. __I know I can save her. __I know it. _He repeated words of encouragement in his head.

"Then, it's settled. Otoya, come here. I shall cast a spell using this necklace and make you go back to the past," Cecil instructed.

Ittoki furrowed his brows. A part of him didn't want to go, and he was aware of that side. Yet, it was Nanami Haruka he was saving. He needed her. It was like a part of him was missing when he saw that devastating murder on that TV.

He walked over to Cecil obediently and stood in front of him. He began chanting something. "O, muses, I ask for your magical powers, send Ittoki Otoya to the time before Nanami Haruka was cruelly murdered! Help us change her fate! ENCHANTO TIME!" (**Mythia: Yes...'enchanto time.' I know. Go ahead and laugh already.**) As soon as Cecil finished his sentence, a bright light enveloped Ittoki.

The last words he heard from Cecil were, "Remember; after 3 hours, you'll be warped back here...Good luck." The redhead closed my eyes and waited for any kind of physical impact.

Yet, he didn't feel anything. So he opened his eyes slowly, hoping that everything would be normal. Then, he saw that he was in my Master Course bedroom.

Thank God, everything was normal.

Wait, what day was it today?

He scrambled quickly to his calendar, and it read: May 29, 2013. The day Nanami died was May 31, 2013. This was 2 days before her kidnapping and murder!

Where was she now?

Ittoki ran out the door frantically, dashing down the long hallways of the building. Since it was 4:00PM, Nanami was somewhere in the Master Course mansion, since she was always back from whatever her business was by 3:30PM. _Wait, talking about business...she's been leaving and coming back everyday from 9:00AM to 3:30PM since the beginning of the week, _Ittoki thought suspiciously.

At first, he thought it was just some work or maybe she went to compose her songs in a peaceful place, but now that he thought about it carefully, it was undeniably suspicious. He had to ask her about it and get some useful information to the guys!

Ittoki searched the mansion high and low, right to left, ceiling to floor, every nook and cranny, until he found her in the deepest and concealed part of the rose garden.

She was snooping around in there, holding her phone to her ear and speaking quietly to the person on the other line. Ittoki had gotten as close as he could, trying to not get caught but to be on earshot.

Trying to get some hopefully helpful evidence, he took out his phone, which was luckily in his pocket, and began to record the conversation.

"...Please, don't hurt them...do anything for you...as long as you keep your promise..." It was hard to hear, and the teen only heard chunks of the conversation.

Nanami hung up her phone, and just as Ittoki began to scramble away from the place...his phone rang. He saw her turn around with an alarmed look, a look he had never seen her wear before. She looked terrified, as if frightened to the bone.

Had she worn that face of vulnerability before? If that's true, then how come Ittoki had never seen if before? Why...did she have to hide it by covering them with her smiles?

"W-Who's there!?" Nanami was shaking like she was in a nightmare, and looked around. Before she could see the hiding redhead, Ittoki ran and ducked into a rose bush, rushing to turn off his blaring phone. But it wouldn't stop! He couldn't break the phone to pieces because of the conversation he had recorded between Haruka and the stranger.

He heard her footsteps come closer...and closer. _This is it, huh? I'm busted__, _Ittoki thought with a frown.

Nanami blinked when she saw him, looking up tentatively at her. "I-Ittoki-kun?!" she yelped.

"N-Nanami..." To say the least, his heart filled with happiness to see her face to face again. But to think that she'd die in a few days...it ruined the nice, warm feeling.

"D-Did you hear anything!?" Her honey golden eyes that he always admired were full of alarm and she was still shaking, which made him feel conflicted inside.

Should he tell her the truth? If he did, would this affect whether she lived or died?

A simple truth or lie answer could determine her fate.

It scared him to death thinking that what his answer here could make her die, or live.

He had to take the chance. He had to answer soon.

_Should I tell her that I heard the conversation and be honest?_ Ittoki wondered frantically._ Or should I lie and say I was just taking a stroll in the rose garden and was just passing by?_

* * *

**Mythia: PLEASE READ!**

**I know, most of you, if not _all_ of you, know the bad ending to this one because you had chosen the bad ending in the original. But ****I'm in charge of this story, so perhaps you don't know the bad ending because I may or may not have changed it! **

**Lying is bad, you know! But the truth sometimes hurts!**

_**Here are the choices. You can either get Ittoki Otoya to:**_

_**A) Lie to his precious Nanami he'd feel guilty about forever and ever (unless this is the good ending)!**_

_**O**__**R**_

_**B) Tell the truth and face the possibly bad outcome to this~!**_

**Ittoki never did lie in the anime, did he? Neither in the manga. I wonder about the game, hm?**

**I'm in charge of this story, so perhaps you don't know the bad ending because I may or may not have changed it! Lying is bad, you know! But the truth sometimes hurts!**

**So...what's it gonna be? Tell me in your reviews! ****I'm anxiously waiting, nya~!**

**P.S. I have two pictures for this story: One of them shows that you have chosen the 'good' ending, while the other one is the 'bad' ending pic.**

**Written on: 6/5/14**


	3. Confessing The Truth

**Mythia: Hm...okay some of them didn't even vote, aha. And one of them I was torn between lie or truth...but then in the end of the review it said truth, so...**

**The majority is truth~!**

**Well then, I'll say it now. Lying is BAD, but the truth sometimes HURTS.**

**Oh ho ho...**

* * *

_Previously on 'This Is My Fate':_

_"W-Who's there?! I-Ittoki-kun!?"_

_"Nanami..."_

_"D-D-Did you hear anything?!"_

_Alarming golden eyes met conflicted red ones. Was Ittoki going to lie, or tell the truth?_

* * *

Ittoki held his breath. "Well I uh, um..." _Argh! What am I doing!? I can't lie to Nanami! _"I…I did hear you. B-But before you say anything," he suddenly said, causing Haruka's open mouth to whimper, "I…barely did. I couldn't hear that much. I'm sorry, I really, really didn't mean to! I really, really didn't!"

He was speaking so fast that Haruka could barely concentrate on the facts. When she did, she tried her best to breathe. She tugged on Ittoki's arm. "Ittoki-kun, it's not safe to talk out here." She added in a small whisper, "Or anywhere…"

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Ittoki-kun, let's talk in my room," Haruka mumbled lowly, Ittoki barely catching.

"I…uh, oh. M-mm!" The redhead nodded his head.

When the two entered Haruka's room, Haruka bolted the door shut, and closed her drapes, leaving the room dark except for a sliver of light from the bathroom, the door almost closed. She sat on the bed, Ittoki coming along. "Nanami?"

"Please speak quietly," she whispered, pulling him to sit down. Ittoki yelped at such a cold touch, meaning that Nanami's hands were _freezing_.

From all the times Otoya had touched her hands, like a long time ago from Saotome Gakuen where she bandaged his wounded fingers, he had never found her hands cold once. It was always, always warm. Even in the snow when they first met.

When they first met…

Is this their last meeting? If so, Ittoki wished he could trap this time he had with Haruka in an endless loop. Even if it was boring, or scary, or anything, he'd endure it for the one he loved. Besides, he's doing it for STARISH, for everyone!

"Nanami," he whispered, "what's going on?"

"Just…p-please know that this is for your own good," Nanami said quietly. "I can't tell you everything Ittoki-kun. But I just want to say that what I'm doing right now is to protect you. STARISH…"

Ittoki cupped Nanami's cold cheek, only to find burning tears flowing down. "I thought that we could tell each other anything."

"Well, if you understood this, then you'd do the same thing," Nanami barely uttered, choking from her sobs.

Otoya's hand moved on its own, both hands cupping her small face. Nanami's eyes widened, looking up at him before head-diving to his chest. "I'm just trying to protect you guys!" she exclaimed, startling Ittoki. "I love all of you, and care for all of you. I just hope...no, that's too much. I _wish_ that I could stay with you forever. But I…"

"…You?"

"I just can't," she cried. "I can't! I'm so sorry…"

"But WHY?" Ittoki began to shout. "Nanami, you're not making any sense!"

Haruka looked up, her eyes reddening. "I'll tell you one word. But just one. If I say anything else…" She bit her lip. "_Saizo_."

Ittoki furrowed his brows. "Saizo?"

"Shh! Please don't say it now, here! Just after…"

"Wait! You're…you're _planning_ to die, aren't you?! So that was suicide instead of murder!?"

"H-Huh?" The tables swtiched, and now Haruka was unbearably perplexed.

Otoya huffed. "Arghhhh!" He pulled on his hair, frustrated. "Nanamiiiii! Why can't I say this so easily?!"

"S-Say what?"

"Nanami!" He forced his hands on her shoulders, "Ai shiteru! Please don't leave on me, on us! Live until the end!"

Haruka had no words. Ittoki just confessed to her, going so far as 'I love you.' And right when she tried to hide her feelings for their sake! Oh, how she already felt that stomach knot inside of her, barely containing the butterflies. Yet...

The rosette was now cupping Ittoki's cheek, her hands warming from Ittoki's blush, and she leaned forward. "Ittoki-kun...it'll hurt, but this is my fate," she said. "Everyone dies. It'll be my turn, but I just want you to know something."

She leaned forward, giving Ittoki a chaste kiss, saying, "Ai shiteru. And remember...music lives in you. My music...please keep it and continue to spread it with that full-throttle smile and a peace sign." Her tears were no longer hot, but just warm, of bittersweet happiness.

"At least I have met you, Ittoki-kun. I'm thankful, and happy."

Ittoki wanted this to last forever. But before he knew it, he looked and felt translucent. _Remember, you can only stay in the past for three hours_…

_No...no! NO! NO NO NO!_ Ittoki repeated angrily in his mind. "Nanami!" He kissed her lips one final time, hugging her as tight as he could, before he was completely gone.

* * *

Ittoki was back into the present, May 31st. Well, even though he had such a heartwarming moment with Nanami, he knew he hadn't saved her. He knew she was dead.

The door opened, and Ittoki realized that he was on his bed, and it was Tokiya who opened it. "Eh? You…you're back?"

Otoya frowned. "Yeah…I guess I am."

"You didn't save her," the blunet quietly said. "The mission failed."

"No...this time, she died in peace," Ittoki said, causing Ichinose to raise a brow. "She said something with wanting to protect us, and we exchanged words. She told us to move on, keep singing for her, for everyone, and I told her to live until the end."

"Well the end of her life was apparently too soon," Ichinose said, irked. "Nanami still died."

"I know, and I still want to save her," said a determined Ittoki Otoya. "I love her!"

Tokiya blinked in surprise at the sudden outburst. Sometimes, he envied the happy redhead at how straightforward he came to be. While his realizations come late, and it'd take forever for him to confess to Nanami, and then Ittoki just comes in and sweeps Nanami off his feet.

He frowned. "Did you at least get any evidence of the murderer?"

"Huh? Oh yeah!" Ittoki pulled out his phone. "Let's go get everyone."

When STARISH had gathered somewhere in the Master Course dorms, Ittoki played the recorded message. It gave out more than what he had heard, he realized.

"_I beg you, p__lease don't hurt them_…_I'll do anything for you! As long as you keep your promise._"

"That's odd," Cecil muttered. "Do you know who she was speaking with, Otoya?"

"No, but I may have a clue," he said, causing STARISH to perk up. "Nanami and I talked, after she busted me spying on her. She said a name, 'Saizo.'"

Ren narrowed his eyes. "Saizo? Sounds like a man."

"It does," Masato had to agree. "Very suspicious."

"It's a high possibility that was who Nanami was talking to," Syo said.

"Maybe he was the guy that killed Haru-chan!" gasped Natsuki, squeezing Syo worriedly.

"Well, we can't just jump into conclusions now," Cecil said. "Otoya, tell us everything that happened."

Ittoki began to explain that he woke up in his room, searching for about an hour and a half. Then, he said how he found Nanami in the deepest part of the rose garden, and when he recorded her phone conversation. How he got busted, and ended up in Nanami's room. The only thing he left out was the fact that she has kissed him, and he kissed her. And the all cuddly part, he realized was embarrassing and left out too.

"And that's all," finished Ittoki.

"Haruka, our princess destined to die," Aijima sighed. "Well then, with all of this, Saizo is our primary suspect, and we obviously can't dismiss him."

"The first kanji means 'genius,'" Masato said. "The second means either 'possession' or 'warehouse.' Nanami-san was found dead in a warehouse, right?"

"So she's saying that we should check the warehouse the second time?" Syo asked, slightly confused.

"We should remember that," Ichinose said.

"Well then, we have to know who's next," Cecil announced.

Ittoki glanced around. All but Syo seemed very hesitant, he noticed. "Um, I think Syo should be next," he spoke up.

"W-Wha? Why me?" Kurusu asked.

"I think it seems right," Ittoki reasoned. "Minna-san, if Syo agrees, then we should send him!"

Syo made the 'WTH' face, still not believing this, until one by one, all of the STARISH members had agreed it had to be the shota. "Oh, what the heck now guys? Why me?"

"You seemed pumped, Ochibi," comcluded Jingugi.

"S-Shut up! Fine, I'll try to save Nanami you chickens!" Syo exclaimed, giving in. "I can only stay for three hours, right?"

"Yes, that's right," said Cecil, casting the enchantment.

Syo held his breath, waiting for the arriving impact of being sent to the past. He wondered if he could really be the one to save Haruka, after the not-too-failure of Ittoki. So this wasn't going to be too easy, and it certainly wasn't simple, but…

If this was Nanami Haruka they were saving, they always found a way.

* * *

**Mythia: So, the truth SOMETIMES hurts! Well, sometimes it pays off! But Haruka still died. But we got a kiss! 2 kisses, even! But sorry if this was too short for you (it is for me) or that you were angry that this didn't go too far.**

**So, PLEASE READ!**

**Congrats, you have gotten the good ending to the first one! 'Confessing the Truth.'**

**I hope you liked this chapter, because there are more to come! **

**Please review too: constructive criticism is welcomed, I'm okay with those things if it makes me improve into a better writer! :)**

**Btw, you probably noticed that I changed this version from _Kawaii Dream_'s. This was the idea I had in mind as I was reading her original story a while back, kinda angry that I wanted him to tell the truth too, aha…  
**

**EDITED on 6/13/14**


	4. Kurusu Syo

**Mythia: Despite the lesser reviews than the original, I am very happy nonetheless for the new support I'm receiving and the kind words you all have! Well, there _was_ that review from what Threya Midnight said was a 'Kawaii Dream fan poser,' (I'll quote this, she said 'copycat...' and signed her account name on the bottom, leaving me pretty upset) and to say Threya-san was pissed, well, I'm going to assume that she was just annoyed, or a bit ticked off.**

**That's funny to me actually, because instead of being mad like most people would be (take Threya-san as an example), I was PMing Kai-chan (Kawaii Dream), quickly apologizing. Though, she didn't reply back, and that's why I had a feeling that it _wasn't_ her and just a fan poser. Then, she assured me that it wasn't her when I started to freak out.**

****So anyway, thank you all for your kind words and the supportive impression it brings! I'm glad there are people out there who likes my stories (honestly, they suck). Unless you're all...robots. There was that guest named Ai. O_o Whoa... *looking at nothing*****

**Alright then! Enjoy the canon(ish) chapter below!**

* * *

As Syo opened his eyes, adjusting to the newfound light, he quickly checked his phone, switching to the current date: May 31st. Otherwise known as the day of Nanami's death. Scrolling on some things, Syo's eyes peered over the time of 4:00 PM...

Wait, that meant that Nanami was to die in three hours, and that was the length of the blonde's stay. Realizing this quickly, Kurusu Syo dashed out to the door to Nanami's room. Not finding her there, he heard dainty footsteps above him and took a lucky yet sloppy guess that it was the rosette and ran down halls to find the elevator.

His heart was beating fast, his eyes trying to stay alert of his surroundings. Any sign of sunset orange or yellow eyes might as well have set the blonde off then and there. _Doki doki doki!_

_DOKI DOKI DOKI,_ his heart had pounded over and over again inside, his breath almost gasping when he slammed his fist on the elevator...which was too slow.

_D*IT!_ he shouted in his head. _Stairs it is!_

And off Syo went, rushing not to far to the staircase.

Descending down to the 1st floor, Nanami was just about to go somewhere. She was wearing her casual, everyday clothes, holding up a small bag with nothing but her wallet and phone in it.

"Nanami! Where are you going?" Syo shouted across the hall. She paused for a moment, and then looked over at him, the color of her skin going paler than it already was.

Then she smiled, obviously fake. "I-I was just about to go buy some books," she stuttered in reply.

Syo was not going to let Haruka to be alone anytime soon. He was not allowing it one bit. "Can I come with you? I also wanted to drop by the bookstore," he lied, needing to watch her and protect her.

Haruka's eyes flickered left, right, up, down, her mouth slightly open for an excuse. "Uhm...I really just want to go alone, Syo-kun. Thank you anyway!" She hastily and nervously ran out the exit.

Syo stood there, thinking fast. _I__f I follow her, she'll probably just take a different route to the place she really going to, and run away from me_, he thought. _After all, I know she's probably heading towards the small warehouse, the place where her body was found._

He shivered at the thought. _I'll...I'll just secretly follow her around. That should be the safest way to this._

By the time Syo had made up his mind, Nanami was far past the door. So, acting fast, he ran as silently as he could.

* * *

It was still faintly light outside, the sunlight still visible. But it was almost dark, so by 7:00PM, the time of Nanami's death, it'd be completely dark where Syo was secretly following the composer to an abandoned street. Somehow, he managed to find the anxious girl, looking very suspicious, walking around with her eyes glancing at her surroundings.

She kept walking along the dark street, the time as Syo checked on phone was nearly six. Was he really walking for that long? That was perhaps two hours long, and yet it didn't even feel real. His legs weren't tired one bit, his eyes were sharp and attentive, and his brain wasn't registering the time facts, that his time was up in a little more than an hour.

The tall buildings blocked the small amount of sunlight that was barely lighting the way, so it made the street look creepier, he noted. There was not a person in sight, and the houses were old, looking haunted in a way. Despite all of the signs of why she shouldn't be walking down this street, and especially when it's almost night, Nanami kept walking with a brave yet...different look on her face, Syo also realized and mentally took note of.

Syo was hiding behind trashcans and light posts, even behind the dusty and unusable cars. Then, Nanami stopped at a fork in the road. Looking both ways, she took the right path, which looked even more eerie than the left.

On the left road, it was the exit out of the dark place, Syo quickly noticed. There were little bits of sunlight hitting the road, but Nanami still went the other way.

This wasn't even the way to the book shop.

Despite having near no balls at the moment, Syo tried to follow, his eyes struggling to adjust to the darkness. Eventually, his eyes laid upon a small building near him, where Haruka was walking to.

It was the small warehouse.

Intaking a shaky breath, Syo followed Haruka inside the place, his eyes well adjusted to the dark.

It was an abandoned warehouse, many holes in the rotting wood that barely supported the roof. The ground, also made out of wood, made lots of creaking noises when you stepped on a certain spot. Syo tried his best to stay quiet, avoiding stepping on breakable wood. The place was dusty and smelly, giving Syo the urge to gag, sneeze, and cough all at the same time. And leaving of course.

The place was giving off scary vibes. Syo tried to control his breathing, which he realized was pretty heavy.

_Spiderwebs are everywhere_, Syo thought. _It looks like there could be rats living here too_...

Nanami calmly walked through the place, not minding the smell, noise, or surroundings. Before Syo knew it, the composer stopped in front of a beat-up, old wooden door. Then, she spoke up loudly, her voice shaking. "M-Master Saizo, I have arrived."

_Master Saizo...? WAIT A MINUTE!_ Syo fished out in his memory what Ittoki was saying.

"Ah, Haruka, I've been expecting you. Come in," a dark, deep voice replied from inside the room. _W-What the h* is this!?_ Syo crossly thought in his mind.

She took the door knob in her hand hesitantly, then she shook her head and opened the door. The door responded with a creaking noise, which also sent more dust towards the place Syo was hiding in. Hiding behind a dusty yet concealable velvet curtain, the blonde kept a close eye on what he was seeing.

A gold light shone from the other side of the room, the one where Nanami just stepped in. She pushed the door behind her in attempt to close it, but Syo ran quietly towards the door and held it gently. This allowed him to see the scene at a safe enough spot.

Syo peeked inside, and the first thing he noticed was that everything in the room was shining a gold color because, well...

Everything _was_ made of gold. (Cue deadpan)

In the middle of the room, there was a golden throne. A man with gray-white hair and an outfit that looked like he was royalty, sat on that throne. He was wearing a golden mask, so I could not see his eyes or face.

"Haruka, come to your Master," Saizo said loudly and grandly, gesturing her to come by waving his index finger back and forth seductively.

Syo could not see the expression of Nanami's face, since she was facing the other direction, but she meekly said, "Yes, Master Saizo," and walked towards him. Saizo then grabbed her arm when she was near him, making her lose her balance and she fell into his lap.

When Syo saw the look on Nanami's face, red and flushed in utter surprise, he couldn't think between being angry or shocked. Maybe both, but it pissed him off either way.

Saizo grabbed Haruka's chin, making her face him. Then, he took off his mask, and kissed her so forcefully, yet the rosette easily gave in.

He was still covering his face, though, along with Haruka's with his mask. Then, it shocked him to no end, his blood boiling and his stomach flipping at the sound of a _moan_ escape from the girl.

That was something Nanami never did in front of anyone. Anyone except for HIM. This just lead Syo to many more questions.

_What is this!? Is this some joke? Who is this man? Is he Nanami's lover? Is that why Nanami pretends she doesn't notice Jingugi flirting with her, or any of the advancements of all of us STARISH!?_

_THIS IS AN OUTRAGE. He's gonna die in my eyes once I—_

Then, Saizo put his mask back on, and pulled out a knife.

With the sharp knife, he held it at Haruka's neck. Nanami let out a little yelp as the cold knife touched her warm neck. "You've been a good girl, Haruka," Saizo chuckled darkly, "so my reward to you is death. You were a fun toy, but now I need a new one." Saizo laughed, not because anything funny was happening, but because he seemed to enjoy killing people.

_The nerve this sadist b*$t*d is!_ Syo internally raged.

Nanami had a frightened expression, her eyes shaking, her pupils shrinking smaller, as her honey golden eyes widened in fear. "M-Master Saizo! Please, d-don't do this! I thought we had a deal!" Nanami said, but her voice was shaking and she was stuttering helplessly.

"Aw, you want to live longer? Okay, I'll give you a slow and painful death," Saizo smiled and moved the knife he was holding across Nanami's skin, creating a visible red line of blood.

Nanami opened her mouth, almost like she was screaming, but no voice came out. It was too painful that her desperate screams could not be heard. _This...!_ Syo was more than alarmed at this point.

If this keeps up, Nanami would die, he knew well.

_Argh! I need to do something, quick! C-Chotto (wait)...if I go in there, what would happen?_

Nanami was there, her death door right there. Her fingers grazed the door for only a second, but the door didn't slip past her fingers. It inched closer and closer, the darker it was up close, and Nanami was unwillingly stuck...unless Syo had some way to save her.

_If I choose to stay here and watch, what would happen!? I need to think, and fast!_

_Should I go, barge into the room, and help her, risking my life?_

_Or should I stay here and watch her be harmed, most likely killed?_

* * *

****PLEASE READ****

**Mythia: Well then...much yet not much has happened. I have changed many words in this chapter to make the choices harder. Of course, I don't want to point it out! XD**

**So, which do _YOU_ pick? Will Syo:**

**A) Barge into the room and attempt to save Nanami, whose death is possibly seconds away**

**OR**

**B) Stay behind, concealed, watching Nanami's possible death**

**Indeed, I HAVE changed the ending chapter for Ittoki, even though the voting results were the same as the original. HOWEVER, that does NOT mean that I'll change the ending to this one. Perhaps I won't. Or will I?**

**HEHEHE.**

**Just remember this: Saizo has a knife on Nanami's neck. What would happen if Syo did nothing? What if he did something?  
**

**_Please_ vote in your review! I'll be anxiously waiting to write the next chapter!**


	5. One Beating Heart, One Smitten Soul

**Mythia: Hello! I love all of your support, seriously! You guys are awesome, thank you~!**

**I must apologize though for my absence in FF, I had 'Prince of Tennis' episodes to watch. It's my new obsession. $_$ My eyes are literally glued onto my laptop, watching Eng Subs. So sorry about my laziness.**

**The votes are in! Arigatou, hontoni desu (Thank you, really)! The answer is...**

**A! Because of you, Kurusu Syo feels the urge to rush in the room and save Haruka from the mysterious Saizo in the secret golden warehouse! Though, you might want to think this through...**

**Or not. XD**

**Enough blabbering, on with ze story~! **

* * *

Kurusu Syo was starting to get frustrated. He didn't even know what the heck he was is suffering in there! She will die if this keeps up!

_I have to go in and save her! _That was his final decision.

Syo put his hand on the door handle, yanked it down, and pushed the door open so forcefully, the whole building shook and creaked for a bit.

The man with the mask, Saizo, looked up. So did Nanami, who frightfully squeaked, "S-Syo-kun...!" Her eyes were pleading him to leave, making him wonder intensely. "Syo-kun, go! Run away!"

"No, Nanami! I _came_ here to save you! Please, understand that I came here for you!" Syo shouted, glaring at the amused-looking Saizo.

No way in hell was Syo going to lose Haruka again to that...that _Saizo_.

A smirk played on the masked man's lips. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? Kurusu Syo from the petty boy band, STARISH? I'm honored that you came to visit us!" Saizo laughed with the knife still at Nanami's neck, irking Syo by the minute.

"I don't give a d*mn about your 'jokes'! Let go of Nanami, _now_!" Syo continued to shout, his voice echoing through the dark warehouse. For barely a second, Syo was surprised at his bellowing voice, since he had forgotten that gold was surrounding him instead of wood.

Saizo smirked. "Oh? What has gotten you to think you can make me do that?" He pressed the knife back on Nanami's neck with his other hand, provoking Syo. He clenched his fists, fighting the urge to kill him on the spot. But this was Syo, and fighting urges weren't his thing, when he knew he wouldn't win against it.

"BET THIS WILL!" Syo charged at Saizo, fist aiming at his face. Then, the blonde suddenly saw him put on a devilish smile, staying completely still. His fist was about to meet with his mask, when Syo suddenly changed his course and he punched Saizo's neck.

Surprised, Saizo smacked his head on his throne, his head and neck throbbing. for a moment, his grip loosened on Haruka. And at that moment, Haruka strained for her escape, and wriggled herself out. Syo sighed in relief for barely even a second before he felt his retreating arm being held tight. Then, it twisted, making him cry out. "D*mit, _argh!"_

"S-Stop, don't hurt S-Syo-kun!" Haruka sputtered in alarm and fear, her voice barely audible through the painful cries of Syo.

"You, shut up," Saizo said, as he moved pulled out his knife and threw.

And then it happened. Everything seemed slow, like the clock's second hand was slowing down. _Tick...tock..._

It happened so quickly, it didn't even feel real. In one second, there was blood on the floor. Whose blood was that...?

Syo didn't have to think.

The tears just came to the shocked blonde.

_Blood_.

The smell of copper _blood_.

The sight of red _blood_.

The smell and sight of none other than _Nanami's_ blood.

Syo didn't want to look as her body fell on the ground, laying limp. Yet Saizo was more than sick enough to force Syo's head to jerk at Haruka's body, forcing his eyes to stay open. Saizo was laughing maniacally all the way.

But Syo didn't hear his painful laughs. The only thing he heard were the memories and voice of Nanami flying through his stricken brain, one by one.

He forced his eyes shut.

Nanami was lying on the ground. Her throat was cut open, blood pooling out onto the ground. There was no sign of life left in the body...being a soulless body.

Saizo had finally released his death grip, and so Syo felt limp and fell on his knees. _I failed_, was what he thought. _Nanami died. __She's gone. __Dead._

Syo's tears couldn't stop falling. _I couldn't protect her._

The knife was on the ground, as guiltily bloody as Nanami's blood. Glancing at the dark, red liquid, Syo felt himself start to shake violently. He said her name over and over again. "Nanami...Nanami...Nanami...! NANAMI, DON'T DIE, BAKKA (idiot)!"

"How do you like that, Kurusu Syo?" Saizo snickered at Syo's defeated look plastered on his face.

_Saizo killed Nanami._ Those were the blonde's thoughts. Gathering up the most of his strength possible to muster, Syo hurled a punch at the masked man right on the jaw, and he was caught off guard.

"D*n you...I'll teach you not to mess with me!" Saizo grabbed the knife next to Nanami. Twirling it, he pinned the short shota on the ground, beside Haruka. His blonde locks were soaked red from her blood.

"Now, what to do? What shall your punishment be?" hummed Saizo. He began to run the blade of the knife on Syo's face, creating a small red wound. It trailed down to his neck, then...

"How about...HERE!"

Syo felt a sharp pain surge through his body, with blood was gushing out of his right shoulder. _His_ blood.

He screamed with utter agony.

"Muahaha! You like that? Then how about HERE!" Even with the bright light of the room, Syo saw the glint in Saizo's eyes, and in them were maniacal amusement. Then, the knife was aimed at Syo's heart.

He felt like it was all over. There was not a thing he could do under his weak strength, with Haruka's corpse right beside him. He supposed that...he should just let fate take its toll, if this was what he was destined for. To die at this young age, with Haruka beside him...

_Well then_, Syo thought, _at least through all of this, my death would cause me to see Nanami again. And kamisama..._

Then, a bright light appeared out of nowhere, not that the gold walls weren't blinding enough. Syo opened his eyes, and saw...Haruka. Ivory wings adorned her back, with an angelic feathery white dress on her, and it all looked transparent. Syo squinted his eyes.

She smiled at her friend kindly and assuringly, and somehow managed to grab Saizo's arm, preventing him from stabbing Syo's heart.

"W-What is this? I can't move my arm!" Saizo shouted. He stubbornly tried to move, but Nanami was surprisingly strong, holding her iron grip.

"Nanami...! Nanami! I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry!" Syo cried, still sobbing away. He failed to protect her, yet she still helped him live. He shouted in his mind, _How can she be so kind to me?!_

Then, something bright and sparkly surrounded him. The last things seen through blue eyes were Nanami's dead, bloody body, Angel Nanami's forgiving smile, and Saizo thrashing wildly around, trying to move.

Suddenly, Syo disappeared, ending back in the Master Course dorms. But he returned with his head drenched with sweat and a mixture of Haruka's and his own blood, his right shoulder looking like gravity pulled it harder than his left, and his expression _pissed_ out of his mind.

He wanted to return victorious, but failed. The memory of Nanami's death replayed over and over in his mind. Syo was there, yet...he couldn't protect her!

Then, his shoulder, as he noticed, was completely numb. Perhaps it was broken, worse unusable! Yet his thoughts were selfless, as he thought about how his bloody arm was nothing compared to what Haruka had went though. She went through _death._

"Syo...chan..." Natsuki walked up to Syo slowly. He couldn't believe his eyes! Were his glasses fogged up, or was the sight of blood no mirage? "Your shoulder...UWAH! We need to take you to the doctor right away!"

Syo hadn't uttered a single word, even when he collapsed and it was all dark for him. The last words he heard were, "HANG IN THERE, SYO-CHAAAAAN!"

Before he knew it, Syo had woken up in a hospital bed, in a hospital. His arm was wrapped and bandaged, his cheek stitched with medical thread, and his hair dried off of Haruka's blood. Before him were STARISH, but no Haruka.

Syo didn't say anything because he hadn't known what to say.

There was nothing to share, since it'd just hurt them if they'd known what happened to him. Perhaps Ittoki would understand, since he had gone through something with Haruka, though Syo knew he was hiding something behind those red eyes and pained expression. Even though, he didn't see Haruka freaking _die_ before him! So no, _he'd_ never understand either!

As would the rest of them. So Syo didn't care anymore.

"Hey, Otoya," Syo finally spoke, surprising the others. Especially Ittoki. "What are you hiding...?"

Ittoki's eyes widened. "W-What?"

"...What really happened...between you and Nanami...when you were first...?"

Eyes turned to the redhead, whose face turned red for some reason. It gave it away, STARISH was wondering what Ittoki was hiding. "W-Wh...What about you, Syo?" Ittoki turned the tables back to Syo, who had closed his eyes.

He was hoping, holding on to hope, as if that was all he had.

Without Haruka, Syo didn't know if there was any other source of happiness for him. Music would just be the dullest, and shopping for cool stuff would just be barely a blur.

It would never be the same for STARISH. It wouldn't be the same for QUARTET NIGHT, heck, for the Shining Agency! STARISH would be no competition for HEAVENS, or the Raging Agency either, and the Happy Pulse wouldn't come for another decade, maybe even centuries!

Haruka was important. That was the only thing supporting Syo, as he hoped. Before, he had hoped it was all a dream.

However, when reality had struck him...he was left with hope in the others, that they'd bring back their composer: Nanami Haruka. Someday...

He knew it in his beating heart.

* * *

**Mia: Aw...Sorry, you have gotten the bad ending! "One Beating Heart, One Smitten Soul."**

**Though I was hoping you'd pick this one, not because I don't like Syo (because I LOVE him), but because I would have NO idea what to write if you'd chosen the other one. **

**Okay, I do have a few, but they'd suck and I'd get tomatoes being thrown at me through the computer. Who wants magical computer tomatoes? Well I've had some, and they taste like those really disgusting I-don't-even-know-what-color-this-is medicine. Or Natsuki's cookies. XD**

**So...who's next? Hum hum...oh yes!**

**Tokiya's chapter is coming next! So stay tuned, it'll be posted up probably next week nya~! :D**


	6. Ichinose Tokiya

**Mythia: So, here's the chapter with Ichinose Tokiya! Threya Midnight can't sit still, being all, "TOKIYA~ I NEED HIS CHAPPIE OR I MIGHT DIE."**

**Btw, I just had a wonderful vacation to the 4th most haunted place in the US. Awesome, right? :D**

**And here I thought that Key West, FL was a tropical place! Turns out, there's drinking bars everywhere, bad parking spaces that charge you, LOADS of historical houses they didn't bother turning down, and the beaches aren't even real! Wth? The sand was freaking imported!**

**So yeah, enjoy! :)**

* * *

The boys of STARISH refused to go back to the past until Syo explained what happened. Though, Syo stayed silent for a while, as if he had no voice. After a few days passed, he spoke to Natsuki while he was watching over him.

"...Na-Natsuki." Syo's voice was shaky, and his breath was quick, as if he ran to him from a mile away.

Natsuki, who was doing a Piyo-chan puppet show for Syo (in his little own world), looked up, surprised. "Syo-chan! Are you alright?" Natsuki asked right away.

Syo hesitated, intaking heavy breaths. "...Y-Yeah."

Natsuki gave him a soft expression. "You don't have to force yourself to tell us, Syo-chan. Take all of the time you need," he spoke slowly and comfortably, as if Syo couldn't understand him if he spoke too fast.

Syo looked at him with a grateful expression, but then shook his head. "I've kept everyone waiting for too long. We need to save Nanami no matter what it takes," Syo said with a sad look on his face.

Natsuki nodded quietly hearing this, though he was still worried for what was about to come. After all, Ittoki came back flushed, as if he was being burned in a fire. Syo appeared with his shoulder stabbed and his head bleeding, as if he was in a knife fight. It just...it just seemed like their lives really _were_ at stake to him. He was scared of death. He was scared of his friend's deaths.

But most of all, he was scared that he would lose Haruka forever.

Haruka was dead, and that's a fact. However, Natsuki had three chances to save her, thanks to Cecil and the muses. And the grace of God for allowing such, watching as He wanted to see how far His creation would go for love and heroism.

Syo coughed, and cleared his throat. "Well, it all began when I was back in the past, on May 31st. Nanami's...d-death day," he explained, a pained expression on his face as he remembered everything that happened then.

He explained it all to Natsuki, and eventually broke out into tears. And yes, he knew how unmanly it was, but no one judged him.

"Thank you for telling me everything Syo-chan," Natsuki said softly, comforting the small male by hugging him and patting his back. "Even though those memories are so painful, you still shared them with me...really, thank you Syo-chan."

Syo cried into Natsuki's shirt, but he didn't mind. He continued to let Syo let out all of the pain he experienced by allowing him to let the tears flow. Sometimes, tears made someone stronger. After all, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

The next day, Natsuki explained everything to the rest of the members of STARISH. He said, "Syo-chan told me yesterday that there was a man named Master Saizo!"

Masato frowned, nearly passing as a scowl. A very formal scowl. "So our suspicions about this 'Saizo' man was correct," he mumbled, but it wasn't unheard. In fact, they all heard it and ran silent for a few seconds.

"Uhm, he was wearing a golden mask and he was in a room made of gold," Natsuki continued hesitantly. "He kissed Haru-chan and then said that he was done with her and took out a knife. He used the knife to..."

He explained the entire story, leaving nothing out. They all pitied Haruka and Syo, and their blood boiled at Saizo and his dirty tricks. They could see just from Natsuki's description the mask, the slasher grin, the wicked eyes through the gold mask.

Though, Ittoki felt especially guilty. He got to kiss Haruka, and hug her. Syo...well, Syo came back bloody, didn't he?

He felt guilty as hell indeed.

"And that's everything Syo-chan told me!" Natsuki finished.

"...Now I understand why Syo didn't want to talk for a while..." Ittoki actually managed to find his voice through this tragedy they were living in. It didn't even feel real to them, yet there they were, STARIH without the second S...

...and definitely without Nanami.

Yet Ittoki completely understood one thing, and it didn't lift his hopes up. Despite how great his last moments with his composer was, he felt completely useless. He still couldn't prevent her woeful death, shame on him he felt.

"So, now everyone knows what to do if you go on the exact same day and time as Kurusu, right?" Cecil asked.

Everyone nodded their heads. "So, now who wants to go next?"

No one said a thing at this.

Cecil frowned. "No volunteers? None at all...?" Well, he knew he couldn't blame any of them. He didn't want to volunteer, after seeing what happened to the ones that already went.

Then, an unexpected hand raised up slowly. They all turned to the former HAYATO, with his navy blue hair and somber eyes.

"I'll go."

"Oh? Icchi has the guts to volunteer?" Ren teased him.

Tokiya shot him an annoyed look and then nodded at Cecil, muttering, "Why are you picking on me when you weren't going to stand up anytime soon? Unlike you, I'd like Nanami-san alive now, and I'm not going to let fear keep me from it."

"Tokiya...gambatte (do your best)!" Otoya smiled at Tokiya pitifully. Tokiya just looked away, sighing.

"Come, Ichinose," Cecil said, gesturing him to stand in front of him. Tokiya was very nervous, he didn't know what day he would be transported to, nor what he was supposed to do to help Nanami. He stepped in front of Cecil. Cecil began chanting the magic words.

"Enchanto Time!" Cecil said, his necklace shining brightly as ever. The muses' powers enveloped Tokiya in a blinding light, and in a blink of an eye, he was gone.

"May the blessings of the muses and kami-sama be with him," Cecil said, placing the necklace under his shirt. Everyone nodded and left the room.

* * *

After the bright light faded away, Tokiya found himself on the crowded streets of the city.

He was wearing his disguise. _What was I doing here again? _he wondered, thinking for a moment. _...Oh, I was out buying a gift for Nanami-san to repay her for the food she gave me while I was writing my song._

That meant today was May 30, one day before her death. Checking the time on his watch, Tokiya found that it was 7:32 PM, and he remembered that he stayed out until around 10:30.

_Where was Nanami-san now?_ Tokiya immediately tried to call Nanami, and was waiting for a while for her to pick up. However, like I said, it was a while. So when he was about to end the call, a quiet, meek voice spoke.

"H-H-Hello?" Haruka's voice was surprisingly shaking, making him wonder where she was. Was she somewhere cold? Or was she somewhere suspicious...?

Despite that, Tokiya felt the strange sensation once again come at Haruka's voice. His heartbeat quickened, and his throat constricted inside. "...Nanami-san? Where are you?" he forcibly urged.

"I-I...I'm at...mmph!" She got cut off. Tokiya widened his eyes at the sound of a moan escaping her lips on the other line.

"N-Nanami-san?!" He was blushing. _Wait a minute...don't tell me this is Saizo...! _His expression ran alarmed.

"I-I can't t-tell you, Ichinose-san...S-Sorry!" I heard her shriek, and then she hung up. Tokiya swore he heard kissing noises. It sounded like a make out, and he knew he couldn't tell himself otherwise.

He decided that the warehouse was his best bet, since that's where Natsuki said that Syo saw this Saizo there, kissing Haruka and making her moan. _Unforgivable, that b*stard, _he thought to himself angrily.

He found his car and drove through the dark streets. The houses were indeed all abandoned—so were the cars. It felt like a haunted street for a horror movie. I'm sure you can picture that in your head, with the bare dull trees around with creepy faces morphed on the bark, and the unleveled dark grass around the small fences with its white paint chipping off and all that.

At last, he found his way to the warehouse, and parked far away from it. As he neared the destination he had to assume it'd be, he hesitated. It was cold, there was no one around...should he call the police? Some backup, of some sort?

Though...they'd probably think of him as some dumb prankcalling teenager that had no sense of seriousness. And Tokiya was all about seriousness, even when he was being ridiculous.

So he stepped right inside, into the darkness that seemed like it'd fall apart quickly. The first thing that reacted was his sense of smell. _It's so foul in here_, he thought in disgust, wrinkling his nose. But he quickly disregarded that thought, because that was nothing compared to the crowding thoughts of Haruka in his mind.

Then, his next thought was wondering if Natsuki was right about the 'everything was made of gold' part. It could've been an illusion of the eyes, where instead everything was painted a gold color. A distracting bright annoying shade of gold, must he add.

His eyes locked on the small door. If everything really _was_ made of gold on the other side, Tokiya was critically wondering where Saizo had gotten it from. Most likely he stole it, from someplace because of how sick and insane he must've been. Even as he was about to open that door.

The door creaked slightly as he opened it slowly, allowing only a small crack. Listening for any noises, he heard none. Tokiya blinked at this, but his brows hastily narrowed in suspicion.

He waited for a few more minutes. Still, no sound emitted from the gold room.

Then, looking at the light already trying to escape through the crack, Tokiya had lost his patience and swung the door open. He closed the door behind him, and just by looking at it, he knew that everything really was made out of gold.

The first thing he saw was the golden throne perched on the top of a golden stage-like platform, with a crown arrogantly on the side of the stupid chair. On the side, he noticed and spotted many gold weapons.

Tokiya spoke of them aloud carefully. "Swords, axes, hammers, bows and arrows..." Beside them were a variety of shields.

One of the shields were made of a thin piece of gold, considerably light and durable for close-combat, or for when someone throws a punch. Then, there was a yellow-colored, but noticeably not gold shield, that was very heavy but not impossible to lift. "What is this made of?" Tokiya's eyes widened slightly. "...Is this—"

The door slammed open suddenly, and a man with a gold mask stepped in with a struggling Nanami in his arms. Seeing Tokiya made him laugh like a madman. "Ooh, an uninvited guest from STARISH, I presume? What a wonderful surprise!" chortled Master Saizo.

Tokiya's eyes narrowed to slits, glaring at the masked man like death itself. Nanami's eyes were like a frightened puppy—no, like a petrified kitten that was being thrown into a wild river with jagged rocks and I don't know, piranhas in them!? She was scared to death!

The navyhead's thoughts had to snap at more maniacal laughter. "Sorry, but, since you found our secret hideout, you must die~!" Master Saizo pulled out a gun and pointed towards Tokiya.

"NO!" Nanami screamed in horror, thrashing around wildly.

"Nanami-san, I'll be alright! Please, _don't worry!_" Tokiya was secretly more afraid than he had ever been in his entire life. This was a matter of life and death, and there he was, frozen and fazed on what to do. It was unlike himself, where his thoughts would, or should be sharp and rapidly thinking.

"Oh? I think she _should_ worry because you're dead now~!" And Saizo placed his finger on the trigger of the gun.

He was about to fire.

Then, it was like his mind was completely blank. On either side of him, there were the shields. One gold, thin, and easy to carry, whereas the other heavy and yellow, but not gold.

Everything seemed slow. The bullet racing towards him was almost purposely moving slowly for him to make a choice.

_Which one should I use!?_ Tokiya shouted in his mind. _What'll get me to freaking live?!_

* * *

***PLEASE READ!**

**Mythia: Well, there you have it! My twin sister Sia wrote a few of these sentences because I had trouble writing these days. My mind is so blank because I'm struggling to write my Heart no Kuni no Alice OC fanfic, 'The Foreigners of Wonderland.' There are 13 OCs, and there might be more. Thus, it's natural for me to see a bunch of rainbows in the sky...right? (My sister says there's no rainbow, but I told her that she was a big fat liar because I saw twenty of them)**

***So anyway, here are the choices! Ichinose Tokiya could either:**

**A) Use the _thin_ gold shield to protect him from the bullet**

**OR**

**B) Use the _heavy_ NOT gold but yellow shield to protect him from the bullet**

**Think about this. Read between the lines, or the ones in _italics_. And ALL CAPS.**

**Please vote in your** **review!**

****Off to playing Final Fantasy XIII! Ciao nya~! *dies against giant Sanctum enemy flying thingamajigger that just exploded my companions*****


	7. Futari no Yakusoku

**Mythia: Nya...sorry about the late update. I haven't been feeling like writing for this fandom lately. This is what you get for prancing around different anime all the time. I watched SO MANY this year, like, more than 10 anime shows...**

**...P.S. WOW! So many reviews! Thanks to all of you, you guys are awesome. Though...ALL OF YOU VOTED FOR THE SAME THING. XD**

**Guess no one is stupid in the fanfiction world, huh? *wink wink***

* * *

Tokiya didn't have the time to choose. He didn't want to think anymore. Thus, he grasped for the heavy yellow shield and threw it up to cover his body.

The gun fired fast all of a sudden, as if his brain finally caught up to reality. The shield vibrated, and the STARISH member nearly collapsed at the pressure. He knew his body was trembling, and that he didn't have enough strength from fear to hold the shield up.

Nonetheless, choosing the heavy yellow shield did life-or-death use for Ichinose Tokiya. It granted him another chance to live in his world.

The bullet ricocheted off of the shield.

Tokiya dropped the shield, earning a clang to the golden ground. Saizo was roaring, crying out in pain from the ricocheted bullet lodged into his right leg. Haruka's eyes were wide, her mind registering what just happened.

A river of red spilled onto the shiny, polished gold floor.

Tokiya shook his head; this wasn't the time to stare at blood, he knew. It was his chance to run. It was his only chance to act and do what he could. He slid the shield over the side, for it was blocking his path (though he could've just _jumped_ over it), and ran over to Haruka. "Nanami-san!"

He grabbed her pale arm, and ran. "I-I-Ichinose-san!?" Haruka then realized what did just happen. There Tokiya was, his hand hastily grasping tight over her forearm, leaving her master Saizo crying out in agony over a bleeding leg in a golden hideout, hidden in an abandoned warehouse.

Hot air blew into their faces, as Tokiya raced out of the mangy warehouse and darted towards the idle car. Haruka, her head looking back, was trying to catch her breath as Tokiya relentlessly dragged her over.

"I-Ichinose-san! W-What are you—"

"Get in," Tokiya snapped, but not intentionally. He had to act quickly, or else Haruka would die. He wouldn't want that. No one but maybe Saizo would want that.

Tokiya shoved Haruka into the passenger seat to the left, while he rushed over to the driver's seat to the right, nearer to the warehouse. Then, a limping figure was shown, despite the night darkness around.

It was Master Saizo, holding the gun up with hatred eyes through the golden mask. His finger met the trigger once more, aimed in Tokiya's direction. However...it wasn't fixated at him.

It was fixated at... "Nanami-san!"

Haruka's mind was too blank from the events that occurred to notice this. Smirking, Saizo's finger was about to press on the trigger.

_She can't die! She can't die again! I've missed her so much! Without her, my life is incomplete! _Tokiya's mind rambled on and on, indecisive and unsure of what to do anymore.

Time suddenly seemed to go slower. Tokiya's body instinctively moved on its own. Saizo pulled the trigger, sending a bullet flying towards Haruka's head. However, Tokiya wasn't allowing Haruka's death. Not if he could help it.

Time moved normally again, but the pain couldn't have come more fiercely on Tokiya's right shoulder. Red was spilling out of his expensive shirt, but did he care about that? No; he turned to Haruka slowly and twitched a small smile in relief that she wasn't hurt at all.

The loud noise of a gun fired came late into his ears, replaying over and over again. Though Saizo didn't do a thing.

The blood kept flowing, soaking the right sleeve on Tokiya's shirt then. _It'll heal_, he thought absentmindedly. _It hurts, and it's bleeding badly...but it'll heal. Nanami-san's alright, that's what matters._

The blood suddenly reminded Tokiya of Syo's right shoulder, stabbed by Saizo's blade. Now his own shoulder was stained red by Saizo's bullet.

Despite his thoughts, the blood endlessly bled, not even hesitating to stop for even a second. His head began to feel light. The world began to spin around him. His blood was dripping to the side of the car, to the car seat—everywhere, his blood stained.

His strength was painfully draining from Tokiya's body. Haruka, her mind finally intact, widened her eyes until it seemed like it'd pop out. "Ichinose-san!" she shrieked in shock.

His consciousness slowly was slipping away. Tokiya's eyesight began to see splotches of black. The sides of his vision was already dark. His eyes fluttered shut, but he was still conscious.

The pain was overbearing, but still Tokiya fought through it. _At least, it wasn't in the heart_, he thought.

Shouting blared into Tokiya's ears. Haruka loomed over him, her tears plopping onto his very pale face. "Ichinose-san! Stay awake, please! Master Saizo...stop! Enough! Please...let us go!" Haruka was sobbing now, unsure of what to do.

Tokiya's eyes tried opening a final time, and he saw her golden eyes. Her hypnotizing, _golden _eyes...

How could he every like that color again? His eyes shut, for there was no need to leave them open. Sight pained him.

"Ichinose-san! Ichinose-san! No!" Haruka screamed. More tears spilled onto Tokiya's navy hair and face.

The entire time, Tokiya didn't realize who she saw. But when he did, he coughed out, "Nan-am-i-sa-n?"

"Ichinose-san! Stay awake, please!" Haruka hugged Tokiya and didn't let go. Finally, she shouted, "_Saizo!_ I'll do anything! Just..._give it back to me!_"

Saizo stared dryly at his gun in his hand. "Give you what?"

"My _powers!_ Just...oh, give it please! I'll do whatever you want, just _please!_"

"...Whatever I want?"

"YES! I promise! Now please!" Haruka never broke her promises. Saizo knew that better than anyone.

"...Hmph. Fine," Saizo muttered, and unleashed a glowing light upon Haruka, who didn't hesitate any longer. She brought her lips to Tokiya's. It was warm on Tokiya's freezing lips. It was soft and gentle to him though.

He felt the bullet in his shoulder disappear, his deep wound closing, and his strength returning. The pain abated, leaving him with his eyes open a little to see Haruka...kissing him, with a bright light surrounding her.

Despite the silence, it was like Haruka was speaking through the kiss. _Don't die, Ichinose-san! Stay by my side!_

Soon enough, her lips left his, and she was smiling in overcoming relief. There was no more blood shed, or on his shirt. "...Thank goodness, Ichinose-san..." Tears began flowing out of her eyes again, but of happiness. "I-I don't know what I would've done if you were gone!" she cried.

Tokiya's expression softened, and his hand caressed her cheek. "Nanami-san...don't cry for me, but smile for me instead," he whispered.

Haruka nodded. "I'm so glad you're all right..." She sat up, her light weight leaving him. Tokiya's hand stroked her hair, his shirt wet from tears, but it was better than blood.

Then, it hit him. Haruka was alive! She was safe! Which meant...she'd be alive in the present! His operation was a success then!

Tokiya had successfully saved her life. Right?

Just then, a familiar bright light began to surround Tokiya. His three hours were over, it seemed. "Nanami-san..." He pushed her away lightly. Her beautiful golden eyes stared into his dark, blue eyes. He spoke to her, "Keep living for my sake..."

Tokiya leaned in and kissed her wet cheek. He smiled lovingly at her, having a great feeling that this wasn't goodbye. He'd see her when he came back, and the first thing he'd say would be, 'Welcome back, Nanami-san.'

"Promise me, Nanami-san. Keep living for STARISH. Keep living for obaa-chan. Keep living for others to enjoy your music. Keep living for me."

She nodded and smiled the most brightest smile, tears still falling softly onto her lap. She held out a pinky and declared, "I pinky promise!"

Tokiya, finding this childish but didn't care, hooked his pinky with hers. "Yubi kiri genman! Uso tsuitara...hari sen bon nomasu! Yubi kitta!" they vowed together.

(Let's make a pinky promise! And if you lie...you must swallow 1000 needles! It's a promise!)

"Remember...1000 needles," Tokiya teased her. She giggled lightly.

The light began to come closer and closer, slowly enveloping the bluehead. "Nanami-san, please make it home safely. I must be on my way now."

Haruka tilted her head. "...Where are you going? I thought we were going home together."

"I'm sorry...but we'll see each other again soon. You'll see, Haruka." It was at rare times when Tokiya addressed to Haruka by her first name, but it always seemed of fondness whenever it was said.

The bright light completely surrounded Tokiya, and took him away. The last thing he felt was the warmth of Nanami's hands.

* * *

Blue eyes opened; Tokiya was back in the Master Course. He found himself in his dorm room, sitting on his bed as if he was just thinking on it.

Ittoki was looking the other way, listening to music on his headphones on his bed wistfully. He was obviously trying to get distracted, but it wasn't working. When he casually glanced around, he jolted upward when he saw Tokiya, his brows raised.

Headphones flew up over red hair.

"EHHH? TOKIYA? When did you come back!?" Ittoki had a very confused expression. "You scared me to death!"

"I did just now..." Tokiya was about to deadpan, but he was in too much of a happy mood to do so.

"Hey, Tokiya, why are you in a good mood?" Ittoki asked.

Now it was Tokiya's turn to look befuddled. "Isn't Nanami-san alive? I prevented her death, after all."

He frowned when Ittoki looked down and shook his head slowly. "...Nanami still died on May 31st." It took a few moments for Tokiya to process what the red-head just said. And when it did come across his head, he stared in disbelief.

"Don't joke with me Otoya."

"I'm not! Nanami did die on the 31st of May. Ask everyone! Watch the news! Look it up! It's _there_, _everywhere_, in _bold_."

"But...how? I saved her. I saved Nanami-san!" Tokiya began to shout. He was mad. No, he was confused, and allowed his feelings to take over him. He walked backwards slowly, until he felt his bed and fell on it, his eyes locked onto the ceiling.

_How? How did she die? How could she— _Tokiya's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden memory.

_"My powers! Just...oh, give it please! I'll do whatever you want, just please!"_

_"...Whatever I want?"_

_"YES! I promise! Now please!"_

...She did what the guy had wanted. And so she died. Realizing this far too late, Tokiya's mood instantly soured and became gloomy. Saizo killed her. Saizo always did kill her, in every timeline.

But _why? _Why would he do that? What was his reason to it? Tokiya couldn't find any, which meant that his mission was a complete _failure_.

"She promised me...she promised me that she wouldn't die!" Tokiya shouted. "She broke her promise! She...she died. Because of Saizo. And there was nothing I could do about it."

Ittoki blinked. "H-Hah? You mean, you met Saizo too? Did he look like what Syo's seen?"

Tokiya didn't want to answer, and continued his rants. "That guy needs to die. He needs to burn in hell. Saizo, he better run."

"T-Tokiya?"

"I'm going to take shooting classes, and learn my own ways to kill that, that insolent, mangy _bastard__—"_

"Tokiya! Stop that. You can't speak like that around here! If words could kill, I'd be dead!" Ittoki scolded.

Tokiya was too caught up in his rage to think clearly. It was like his feelings were controlling him, and it was on furious overdrive. However, in a weak attempt to calm him down, he tried thinking about the times Haruka and he spoke.

He remembered the first words he said to her. _'Please don't call me HAYATO.'_ Or something like that.

He remembered that his music was failing because he had no emotion in them.

He remembered how Haruka saved his music, made it have meaning and feeling. It felt like flying.

He remembered how Haruka somehow convinced him to be in the STARISH band.

Because of her, he was free from HAYATO. He had close friends. He was still successful, doing what he loved. And it was all due to the beloved Nanami Haruka.

And she was _gone_.

She broke her promise. But it wasn't her fault, Tokiya had to remind himself. It was _Saizo's_.

"For now," Tokiya mumbled, but loud enough so that Ittoki heard, "I'll promise Nanami-san_—no, _Haruka that I'll live for her. And until one of us saves her, I'll treat my life like it means more than anything to me. It's a promise for her. And no way will I abandon it."

* * *

**PLEASE READ~!**

**Mythia: I know, this seems like a terrible ending. But really, it's not guys! It's the good ending. But blargh, Haruka still _freaking dies_.**

**Sorrynotsorry.**

**This is called, 'Futari no Yakusoku,' which can be translated to, 'Two People's Promise.' Haha, when I think about it, it sounds like 'Futari no Himitsu,' a TokiHaru fic written by the one and only delightful Threya Midnight. You know how much I love you.**

**But guys, if you hate me for the bitter ending to this chapter, just think about it if Tokiya chose the thin gold shield. *pain hurt dying dead***

**So yeah. Thank you for your endless support guys! And eat some Chobani Greek yogurt or something, because I have a problem eating that for all eternity.**

**So I switched to Yoplait. ****I don't know which one tastes weirder. XD**

**...Just kidding. I don't do Greek yogurt man. I just...can't get over the smell...**


	8. The Story of Saizo Part I

**Mythia: Okay, I'm still alive. For now.**

**You know when life just stands in the way when you know you've gotta update? Talking to the authors out there. And the potential authors. I'm warning you of the future. Things will get tough.**

**Okay, here's when I actually do something original. XD  
**

* * *

Lightning stuck in the Golden Academy. There, the students had abilities strong in elemental magic, emitting fireballs from their palms or flames in their hair. Maybe they stepped grass wherever they went. Perhaps they froze anything their fingers touched. It was possible of many other elements, such as silver, iron, or gold, to be powers of a number of the students there.

The most famous teacher there was Jirou. He went only by that name, and no one knew if that was his first name or last, or if it was one of them, they wondered if he had the other.

Did that make sense?

Well, Jirou was strict but kind. He spared his students from brutal punishment other harsh teachers would lash at them. At the same time, he made them learn hard and disciplined them well verbally.

All of the students focused on their main abilities, learning other abilities at a slower pace. By the time they graduated, their abilities have reached their peak. However, Jirou warned all of them three things with their powers:

One, he advised them that going past their magic limit could result in very dangerous consequences. He told them of someone who once went past their limit and exploded into nothing. They could end up the same as him, or lose their powers or weaken them permanently.

Two, they weren't to mess with time. Though the people who contain that ability were rare, they were never to use it. They were also never to bring anyone from the past nor future, turn something younger nor older, and NEVER should they _ever_ train themselves with time abilities.

Let's pause the warnings for a moment to say something.

Jirou had spoken about the muses, the only beings that were allowed to take people back and forth in time. Their powers were limited, however, and _very few_ people have seen them. They usually were ones with royal blood, or heirs to a rich company/kingdom.

Let's move on to three: they were never, _ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER, EVER_ to create a human being with their powers. If they even manage to...they were to be one of the most powerful magic wielders they've ever known. No one has ever made a human being, so Jirou and the other wizard teachers feared of the possible aftermath.

So bottom line, they never taught their students about human creation. No one knew how it was done, so how could they teach?

No one bothered to try.

* * *

Until.

The.

Boy.

Goes.

Through that door.

"Kokonose Haruka, you're late."

The boy had his uniform messy with his shirt buttons on wrong and his tie loose, with his shoes untied and halfway on his feet. His hair was disheveled, and his wide, dark eyes scanned in his textbooks for a piece of paper in one of them, which he put in there as his study guide. His grip on them slipped, and because he had notes randomly put in his binders, they flew everywhere.

"Kokonose!"

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, grasping for the papers that were yet to fall to the ground.

As Kokonose picked up each paper, he heard voices. The quiet, hushed, mocking voices belonged to his classmates, some snickering when he wasn't looking, others frowning deeply at his clumsiness.

They've always said that he was born a failure since he could remember.

He had no courage to step up to them. He was a nice person, after all. Kind, considerate, innocent, clumsy, and harmless was he. Nothing else could describe him.

Only one voice wasn't heard. It was expected of the quiet girl in the back of the room, who rarely spoke. They said that if you heard her voice, you'd have to do everything she said afterward.

Why were those rumors spread?

She was a muse. A proud, intelligent, powerful woman was she, with sharp, always seemingly glaring eyes. Even her black hair held up in short ponytails or long pigtails were razor sharp, as if it was cut with a sword.

The room went silent when she stood up. Even the teacher zipped his lips shut, knowing what she was about to do.

The girl was Enomoto Takane, a muse with powerful rare abilities—time, music, and hypnotism—walking towards the figure picking up his papers anxiously.

When Kokonose sensed a looming figure, he assumed it was his teacher. He sulked, waiting for the punishment, but it never came. Slowly, his eyes dared to look up.

Their eyes met for the first time. "E-Enomoto-san?" He could barely speak because of his shock.

Without a word, Takane crouched down calmly and tore her gaze off of him, picking up a paper. Then two. Three. And all the while, Kokonose was frozen in place, unsure of what to say or do.

He shook his head, taking the papers from Takane. "Enomoto-san, there's really no need!" he exclaimed. "Please don't—"

Takane didn't say anything, and merely looked at him again when he closed his mouth shut.

The room still remained silent, as if time itself froze. Though, the clock still ticked, and that was the only thing heard in the room save the fallen papers being picked up and Kokonose's pounding heart.

Don't take it that Kokonose had a crush on Takane, because it's nothing of the sort. As far as he can remember, Takane has never helped anyone. And yet, she was helping him without a word uttered.

"U-Um..." The room was really getting awkward.

She stood up, and promptly shoved the papers to Kokonose, who managed to catch them before they fell again. "Ah, t-thanks, Enomoto-san!"

Takane was already sitting down in her chair. The classmates gaped back and forth at what just happened.

"...There's no need."

Now everyone's minds went blank. Takane just freaking _talked_!

This _must've _been the end of the world. And things went wild in Kokonose's head. _What does this mean!? Does she like me, or does she hate me? _

_This is too confusing!_

The teacher was the first one to recover his loss for words. Hastily, he returned the students' attention, and began the lesson.

* * *

Kokonose Haruka could not concentrate.

Ever since first period, his mind couldn't think of anything but those eyes that felt like knives stabbed at him and the icy feel of Enomoto Takane's fingertips touching him as she gave him his papers he dropped that morning.

He wondered feverishly what it meant.

As for Takane, she repeated the events as well. She was thinking that Kokonose would be undeniably shocked for all eternity whenever he saw her. Or maybe horrified.

Just because she _looked_ scary, doesn't mean she actually _was_.

Takane glanced over as she headed for fifth period at the boy who tripped on his own shoe, needing a tall freshman to help him maintain his balance. "Seriously, you're my senpai!" the freshman groaned. "At least tie your own shoe!"

_What the hell_, Takane thought. _Kokonose is a senior. He should act like one._

"I-I'm sorry!"

* * *

The end of the school day arrived. And as Kokonose was about to leave to do his homework in his dorm room, he was called by his teacher in third period to clean the room.

Sighing glumly, Kokonose dragged his tired body into the room, only to find the one person his mind went spinning for there.

"I'm assigned to clean this room with you," was what she said.

_No, don't talk! It messes my head up..._

Takane didn't spare another look at him, and picked up the broom. "I know you're good at your telekinesis," she spoke. "I'm not." She tossed the broom at him, hitting his head.

"Ow!" Kokonose winced, looking up at the girl. She was arranging the cabinets because her abilities to clean things weren't her forte.

Then why was she here? The teacher never picked her to clean the rooms...

Takane was a transfer student. She wasn't supposed to go into an elemental school, but everyone knew that she graduated music school two years ago, disguising herself as a regular non-magic being in Japan. In other words, she finished the course at the end of her sophomore year.

That left her to go to a magic school for element specialists. There were no schools for muses in Japan; those schools were very much farther away.

For a brief second, her eyes darted to Kokonose. He was moving the dustpan with his mind while taking the broom in his hand.

"Why can't you move them both with your mind?" she asked him. He jumped, and the dustpan barely spilled out its contents.

"Um, well...my arms are flimsy," he genuinely though sheepishly explained. "Maybe doing little things like using this broom will make me stronger. Ah, ha..."

It took a whole lot of strength for Takane to not deadpan. But for some reason, it sparked her humor. She didn't even know she had one since she came to Golden Academy.

"It'll take more than a broom to make you stronger."

They were silent for a long while after that.

Eventually, the silence was more that Kokonose could bear. It was insane enough that Takane spoke to him a number of times, but this drove him to the bone. "Enomoto-san!" he blurted out.

Takane twitched slightly. "Is there something wrong?" she questioned, her back turned to him.

"I'm just wondering...why are you talking to me today?"

Takane closed her eyes and thought. To be honest, she didn't really have an answer for that. It just felt a little less stiffening for her to talk to him. Besides that, he was a bit pitiful.

By a bit, she reconsidered it to be a lot.

"I'll give you a more prompt answer at another time," she finally replied. "If you want to be stronger, I'll train you."

"H-Hah?"

Training Kokonose was exactly what she did.

* * *

As Takane began to know Kokonose more, she noticed the little things about him. He was interested in the gold element, and gold masks. His muscles grew as he ran more and held more weights. His eyes seemed sharper and he became less clumsy.

And more...sexy.

He became popular with the girls before either of them knew it.

"Are you really Kokonose Haruka?" a girl asked in disbelief, her eyes pinpointed at his biceps.

"Um..."

Takane gave him a warning glance, and he surprisingly caught it over the swarm of girls and cleared his throat. "Ah, I mean, it's up to you if you'd like to believe in that."

Cue the fangirling. "KYAA~!"

* * *

Later on, Kokonose ran up to Takane, and barely broke a sweat as he would've sweated bucket loads before. "Enomoto-san!"

"Takane is fine. I've known you for a while now."

They have. It's been five months, and their senior days were wrapping up. It was March already for the two.

Takane herself has become more popular. She talked more, and her icy form melted considerably. She opened up to more people, and they were no longer afraid of her.

Inside, she missed those days a bit. It's been far more noisy now than it had ever been.

They sat on the school bench outside. "So, I've been thinking," Kokonose began to say, "my name is pretty girly, right?"

"I suppose." By that, Takane meant 'yes.'

"I want to have a different name," he suddenly declared. "Choose for me, Takane-san."

His appearance did not match his kind personality. That had to change.

Takane was quiet for a while. Kokonose was about to think that she wasn't thinking about his name, but then she spoke. "Saizo."

"What?"

"We use that warehouse near this school to train," she said. "Saizo means 'warehouse.'"

"Oh..._sugee_ (wow)!" Kokonose stood up and stood up proud and straight. "'Kokonose Saizo.' I like it!"

"Live up to the title," she said bluntly, making Saizo stiffen. "Learn to act like a man."

"Eh? How?"

Takane didn't have to say much. "You know how to act in public by now. You act like a handsome gentleman, etc. etc. Now, let that be your main personality. Let that become you."

"Let that...become me?" Saizo thought about this. "But, Takane-san—"

"No. Be sharper. There's no '-san' in a man, unless you're going soft."

"Um—"

"No 'um' in a man."

"Stop it! I'm trying!"

"Don't say you're 'trying.' You better do it."

"Okay, okay!"

"And lastly, don't let a girl tell you what to do." She stood up and smiled a little. "Let's see how far you go, _Saizo_."

* * *

When muses graduate, they disappear into thin air. The students have learned that in textbooks about them, including Saizo.

But enough of that. His personality, because of Takane, had become a bit...narcissistic.

"Ore-sama does not need your help." (Note: 'Ore-sama' is a cocky way of saying 'I.')

"Oh? My hair, you say? You haven't realized, surely, that it's always been like this."

"It's refreshing, isn't it? Ore-sama has gotten a six-pack. Want to see~?"

The fangirl base accumulated _greatly_.

Now, back to Takane.

In her dorm room, Takane held a picture. It had her smiling, due to Kokonose's fingers pinching her cheeks. She was very annoyed at his antics back then, but now...she missed them.

Those little things they did, they amused her. When he had given her tea whenever he had her exasperated during training, she always thought that it tasted way too sweet. But now...she craved for it more than ever.

Whenever she made Kokonose run, he'd have these endless complaints and excuses, wanting to quit countless times. But Takane refused to let him go and be a wimp for all eternity.

Now? She kind of wished that he'd sit beside her during lunch like before. She remembered his genuine laughs and smiles. She could still feel his warm hands melt away her coldness.

He was like...a friend.

Takane was left with her pencil to talk to again, alone without a roommate, in the dorms. Yes, she did talk to pencils back when she was the Cold Muse, as the students used to call her.

Then, she wondered if there was even a little bit of Haruka left in Saizo. Sweet, funny, innocent, clumsy, delicate, pitiful Haruka. It left an imprint in her memories.

Saizo just left a bitter taste in her mouth.

* * *

"Haruka."

"Oh?" Saizo turned to the girl glaring at him, her arms crossed and her expression sour. He smirked. "Ore-sama is no longer—"

"Stop it with the d* act."

His eyebrows shot up in amusement, as he feigned innocence. "What act? And must I ask, why have you not changed this whole time?"

"I have changed this whole time, you idiot," she hissed. _"You_ however completely _transformed_. You hardly look like yourself just months before."

"Why of course, ore-sama has to look—"

"Shut up," Takane snapped. "Look at me, Haruka. If there's any of that person left inside you, tell him I'm sorry. I'm sorry for ever helping you become like this. You might be successful in life, which was what I originally wanted for you, but you've cut all ties with our friendship, disregarded it, and have completely forgotten."

"Ore-sama doubts that he's forgotten anything."

"Oh yeah?" She grabbed his collar and yanked him down, causing him to blink at the proximity. "I'm going to f*ing disappear when we graduate! I'll be a full-fledged muse, and we'll never see each other again. How about that, _Saizo_?"

She violently let go of him and punched his pretty face. The man just lightly touched it while mustering up a smirk. "I haven't forgotten about that."

"Liar. You're not sorry for anything, are you?" She didn't notice the tear slipping past her pale cheek. "I've regretted everything. If I haven't helped you that morning..."

Saizo didn't remember that morning.

She turned around completely, and ran. That's when she felt her whole body break down. Locking herself in her dorm room, she screamed.

* * *

Graduation came. And then, it passed.

The day after that, as Takane had said, she had disappeared. Saizo thought about that for a moment, before the memories all hit him like thousands of bullets.

He clutched his head, and ran out to the warehouse several days after graduation. He found that it was shut down. Shouting in agony, he tore everything inside apart, and turned some of the objects into gold just to punish himself, banging his entire body on the gold and punching it with bleeding knuckles.

"TAKANE!"

* * *

Eventually, he tried learning how to play music.

Saizo tried to train his fingers to any instrument. He tried taking music classes. Nonetheless, all attempts were futile; he just wasn't good at music.

You see, you can connect to muses through music. The music must have meaning and such for a muse to find you and speak with you.

The poor man couldn't see eye-to-eye on music, and threw the instrument he held on the golden ground of the abandoned warehouse where he stood. Making a throne for him to feel better, he sat on the gold.

Nothing was the same without Takane. That was a solid fact.

Saizo couldn't bring the dead back to life. That was forbidden and never done. However...

He considered for a brief moment of making a being that could play music for him. That'd be simple, right?

NO.

He could just get someone to give him music powers. Though, he knew it still wouldn't work because it had to be naturally done...

* * *

Saizo didn't tell anyone what he was doing. He only stayed in the warehouse for this, grabbing certain items in different places and experimenting on making the perfect musical being.

The thought of breaking a very strict rule made a part of Haruka shiver, but Saizo pressed him down and continued to work, work, work.

If this project was going to be done, he could see his best friend again. He'd say sorry, allow himself to be humiliated and slapped countless times, and spend the rest of his days with _her_ because he was that willing to dedicate himself to her.

He didn't love her that way; Kokonose merely owed her more than what he could ever give.

Either way, becoming Saizo or not, he was going to find a way to stay in touch with Enomoto Takane.

* * *

**Mythia: Sooooo...yay or nay?**

**If you can guess where I got the names from, there'll be cookies of your choice sent to you from America. :D And a bunch of anime drama CDs. Maybe if I'm that happy later on, I'll give you my extra copy of Sword Art Online anime CD. And Kaleido Star, yep, that can go. **

**Hm...you guys like some manga?**

**OK, moving on. Please tell me what you think might happen in your review. I want to hear what you're probably thinking right now. ;D**

**This isn't because I'm selfish for reviews, but I won't be updating until I get at least 5 reviews because I'm very busy and I don't wanna update when there's no one reading it and telling me what I can improve on or what I should just keep doing, what they want to happen, what they're thinking, etc. etc.**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	9. Shinomiya Natsuki

**Mythia: Haha... you know, time passes by and before you know it, a month has. But nope, there's no way a year would pass and I wouldn't update this story!**

**Anyhoo, I finally did what no one does (excluding the ones in cartoons) the other day: walked _right_ into a pole! Yeah, this just shows how _distracted_ I am. :P**

**Also, this is pretty much the end of the road of Kawaii Dream's work. This was the latest chapter of hers. After that... I'm on my own.**

**You might be wondering where Part 2 of Saizo's backstory is. It'll be once you receive this ending of Natsuki's chappie! I love Natsuki too much to leave him, haha. ^^"**

**PLEASE READ THE BOTTOM WHEN DONE WITH THE CHAPTER. Thx!**

* * *

"So you saved her...but she still died?"

"Argh! This...this _Saizo_! Wish I'd met him!" Ittoki shouted. "I would've taught him a lesson..."

"We're not going back there to intentionally harm him if that's not the solution to save Haruka," Cecil seriously spoke.

"What I think we should do right now is save her _and_ find out who Saizo is," Masato said. The words confused everyone in the room, as they turned to him. "If we can somehow reason with him—"

"_Reason_ with him?" Tokiya repeated. "I'm sorry Hijirikawa, but I doubt that will work."

Hijirikawa knew better than to speak up after what Tokiya said, because he knew he hadn't yet experienced what Saizo was like, and Tokiya had.

The room was silent. All of the boys now knew that even if one did save her, it could still lead her to her death. How could they possibly save her if even when they did, it still didn't work? And, with Syo in the hospital, that made their spirits even more so... unusually grim.

"We could die as well," Ren muttered.

Masato asked, "Will that stand in your way of saving her?"

"You know, when I look at it in this way," Tokiya said, "did we discard any other career paths to focus and enhance our music abilities? If there's no way we can save Haruka, then what will we do?"

"...AH!" Ittoki cried, clutching his red locks. "If we can't save Nanami, then our music will no longer exist! HEAVENS would be more popular...hell, even QUARTET NIGHT will surpass us—"

"You've forgotten!" Natsuki shouted, after being so quiet for so long. His green eyes wavered, and his voice cracked. He's held his tears. "We're not doing this for our music! We love Haru-chan's music, but we love her even more! Think of her as a person...!"

Ittoki smacked his cheeks to snap himself out of what was previously in his mind. "I-I'm sorry... something just went in my head for a second there. I just... Nanami, she's..." He cleared his throat the best he could, but it still came out hoarse. "Will we ever see her here again?"

Silence fell upon them once again. Then, a hand shot up before any of them knew it. "I volunteer!" Eyes of all kinds of colors landed on him as he had suddenly spoke up.

"Very well. But, are you sure? Knowing that she should still," Cecil looked at the ground as he whispered, "die. You still...want to do this, Shinomiya Natsuki?"

Natsuki's head nodded vigorously. "Of _course_ I want to do this! I don't care if she still may be able to die—I want to at least try before giving up! And I would _never...ever_ give up on Haru-chan," he said determinedly, a confident radiance in his eyes as he stepped forward. "Let me go...I'll handle this!"

"You are strong," Tokiya mumbled, a sad smile on his face. Knowing full well what it felt like to save her...but then losing her in the end, he felt like Natsuki didn't understand. Well, then again, some things need to be experienced for one to truly know.

"Do you really want to do that?" Ren asked, surprising everyone. "Do you really want to go, risking her life and yours, and maybe others you might meet? If you happen to meet any of us in the past, it might affect a lot of events."

"What words you say," Masato remarked. "Though, it's entirely true. Natsuki, do be careful. If you meet someone, like Otoya or Syo, it might affect their decisions they made while going into their past. So steer clear of them."

Natsuki nodded. "Yes. I will!"

Tokiya looked away. "I hope you know what you're doing. You never know."

Cecil hummed in agreement before taking out his necklace from under his shirt. "Okay then. I shall send you back in time. Remember...three hours is the time limit."

"Yes."

And with that answer, a bright light enveloped him after Cecil had said his chant.

* * *

Natsuki woke up, seeing that he was apparently 'sleeping' on his desk. The calendar showed that it was May 27—three days before Haruka's death. Also the day of their last concert before she died. Natsuki noticed that he was wearing my performance clothes, so must've meant that the performance for the concert would be soon.

He stood up, at the same time a small boy came into the room. Natsuki had forgotten some bits of important information from the present, as he exclaimed, "Syo-chan!"

How did he forget? He didn't; it was just in the back of his mind. It was only that Syo was completely fine, with no damage on his shoulder at all. It relieved him a little.

Syo flared with his fiery spirit that made Natsuki smile. "Natsuki..._I've been looking everywhere for you!_ The concert is in 20 minutes! And we're _still_ at the Master Course mansion! Come _on_, let's hurry up and go!" he yelled as he grabbed Natsuki's shirt's collar and dragged him off, throwing him in the car...somewhat. Natsuki was still twice Syo's height, so he was obviously heavier.

"You're so adorable when you're angry, Syo-chan!" he chirped happily as they rode off to the concert hall.

_If I remember correctly,_ Natsuki thought, _Haru-chan wasn't able to make our concert. She said she had to take care of some family business...right?_

_But maybe...she was with 'Master Saizo' instead._

That's when he saw it. It was quick, it was fast, and it was just for one moment. But...his eyes caught it. And since it's been a while, Natsuki didn't move or speak. He was stunned at the girl with the hair that could stand out in any crowd and those eyes that you could stare at for hours.

_Haruka__...?_

The car passed by her. She was walking down the streets with a man with a hood concealing his face. Natsuki's green eyes immediately began to follow her figure until he could see it no more as she turned a corner into an alley.

_An alley!_ he inwardly exclaimed.

After the concert before, she had come back to STARISH with a few cuts and bruises on her face and body. She said she had fell, and Natsuki believed her at the time. But now, well obviously, that couldn't be true. Not with that man next to her—!

"Stop the car!"

The driver suddenly stopped, tires screeching on the road as Shinomiya Natsuki quickly scrambled out of the car, with Syo shouting. "Natsuki! Where the hell are you going!?"

Then, Natsuki remembered. He should not let Syo follow him. "Stay in the car Syo-chaaan!" he yelled behind his back as he ran.

"What the hell..._Natsuki!_"

Natsuki tried to run as fast as his legs could carry, the hot summer air blowing through his hair and face. His footsteps fast and paced; it almost felt like flying. Flying to save Haru-chan like a superhero, from that sorry excuse of a human man. If he even _was_ human in the first place.

The blonde had finally reached the alleyway. Lewd noises were heard and a disgustingly revolting stench filled Natsuki's nostrils as he peeked in. It was Haruka, and from what he could tell... it had to be none other than Master Saizo.

"Listen to me, Haruka. And you'd better listen good. You got that?" His deep voice rumbled as he held her by her hair, yanking her head to face the disgusting man. "It's your choice. It's either you, or _them._ Which do you prefer?" He growled as Haruka sobbed.

"No. I-I can't…!" She said between gasps and sobs, "I can't do it! P-Please, _please_ have mercy!" She got on her knees and begged with streams of tears running down her face.

Cuts. Bruises. Pain.

_That was where she got her injuries...it wasn't from 'falling_ down', Natuski thought angrily._ No one could fall and get so many cuts and bruises in so many different spots. We had to treat them, because they looked like they could be infected. Just what did this man... do...?_

That's when Natsuki also felt guilt. He trusted her, played with her, made music with her, and yet... he hadn't noticed the suffering Haruka really did go through right under his nose. He hadn't even go far as to ask her every day, "How are you?" because of how she would smile 'genuinely.' She's been hiding it.

So, should he blame himself, or... _no_. He's blaming himself for this. He could never blame her...

It was that day he decided. He would protect Haruka, no matter _what_ happens.

As Natsuki began to take a step forward to show himself, he heard a rather loud call.

"_Natsuki_!" Syo was running full-speed, obviously looking pissed off.

But Natuski had to ignore, because any moment wasted would cause him to never forgive himself, if it meant that Haruka would still die. Then, he saw that Haruka and Saizo froze and looked in the direction where he was standing.

"Who's there?! Show yourselves!" Saizo threw Haruka on the hard cement ground, making her hit her head hard. She shrieked and Natsuki's eyes widened at the sight. _How... how could he just...! She's porcelain china! Delicate glass. An innocent white bird._..

When Haruka looked up, she barely kept her conscious. Blood was dripping down her face, tears and blood mixing together and dropping to the ground. Fear was obviously evident in her eyes as she sobbed uncontrollably, her whole body shaking as she stared over at Natsuki with frightened, shocked eyes.

This was his chance.

For the past year, Haruka and STARISH had decided to tell him about this other side of him—a violent, protecting side of him. He was strong, brave, and could tear down buildings with his bare hands.

All Natsuki had to do to unlock this prowling animal inside him is to take off the glasses that perched on his small nose. _Should I take them off?_ he wondered hesitantly. _Would this solve the problem? Would it be enough to defeat Saizo's magic and power? From what I've heard, Satsuki's a monster... or..._

He glared hard into Saizo. _Or should I take Syo and run away...then come back when they don't suspect anything?_

* * *

**Mythia: Ok, before you guys vote... I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT~!**

**This story will most likely not update in a while. Either that, or the updates will be quick...since its winter break next week. (finally)**

**My top priority is my latest fic, 'The Basketball Which Kuroko Plays.' It has 1 or 2 OCs, and one of them is just the protag's bestie, really, who doesn't come in often... I think. Meh. But yep, that's what I'm going to continue working hard on. Sorry, but UtaPri fics have got to wait a little.**

**Also... THREYA-SAN HOW COULD YOU LEAVE AT A TIME OF PMS CRISIS!? She's gone and won't be back until spring... nuuu... another friend [temporarily] lost. *sighs* But anyway, if any of you readers who read that crap 'Personality Mood Switch' think it's good... sorry. I'm gonna delete it. Because it's screwed anyway.**

**So, here we are! WILL NATSUKI:**

**1) Become Satsuki? (With no plan but what's a brain got when you're wielding puppies on your fists, amiright?)**

**OR**

**2) Take Syo, run away, and come back with a plan? (With Natuski still being Natsuki, and remember the warning about affecting the futures of others like Syo, just saying)**

**Hm... tough choices... buuuuut, there's a clue RIGHT THERE. LOOK CLOOOOSSSEELLLY.**

**That was probably the longest A/N I've ever done. So... ciao nya~!**


	10. Love Ignites

**Mythia: So... we _had_ a tie. Like 18024683561304 times.  
**

**I HATE YOU ALL HAHH.**

**I was like, "Gonna write about Satsuki!" before anyone even reviewed  
****And then we had a tie, so I was like "Oh wait now what?"  
But then, we had someone tip the balance and I said,  
"Okay, running away with Syo how unexpected"  
But then SOMEONE made it a freaking tie again -**

**WHAT THE HELL.**

**So in the end, it's Satsuki. People kept tipping the balance, making it Satsuki, then tie, then Syo, then tie. You know what happened?**

**I kept freaking editing and editing again.**

**So this is what's gonna happen (screw the many votes btw thank you for the love my mythical creatures):**

* * *

_Recap: Previously..._

_"Who's there?! Show yourselves!" Saizo threw Haruka on the hard cement ground, making her hit her head hard. She shrieked and Natsuki's eyes widened at the sight._

_When Haruka looked up, she barely kept her conscious. Blood was dripping down her face, tears and blood mixing together and dropping to the ground. Fear was obviously evident in her eyes as she sobbed uncontrollably, her whole body shaking as she stared over at Natsuki with frightened, shocked eyes._

_'Should I take them off?' he wondered hesitantly. 'Would this solve the problem? Would it be enough to defeat Saizo's magic and power? From what I've heard, Satsuki's a monster... __Or should I take Syo and run away... then come back when they don't suspect anything?'_

* * *

Haruka pleaded, "Please, go..."

"What the f*ck is going on!" Syo shouted with wide eyes. He couldn't wrap his head around what was happening, since it was so random and sudden. All he knew was what he saw: Nanami Haruka on the concrete floor, bleeding, with a man hiding his face with a mask but nothing could hide his twisted, twisted grin. Haruka's breathing was getting uneven, and Syo wanted nothing more than to rush to save her, like in those action movies he'd star in with Hyuga Ryuya.

But, at the moment, all he could do was stare, his body rooted to the spot.

Natsuki was shocked that there was no one around at all. Truth be told, Saizo created an illusion, where Syo and Natsuki could see no one, and no one could see them, nor hear them. It truly was messed up. This whole thing was just—

Saizo flung his knife at Natsuki, who dodged in response. Some of his golden locks fell to the floor, and half of his glasses was shattered, his vision cracked. He felt this strange sensation of anger and fury, and wondered if this was...

"Oh no," grunted Syo, feeling the ability to move again. He grabbed Natsuki's arm and was about to flee, but Natsuki stayed still and unmoving. Nothing could get him away from saving Haruka. Not even Syo.

Then, Natsuki remembered Cecil's warning of having others involved with the incident, and the memories that could possibly be imprinted with them. He inhaled a shaky breath, trying to control his nerves, while Saizo said some things to an agonized Haruka, who was in severe pain. What the hell was he supposed to do? He knew that he had to save Haruka, but would it to be the cost of his own life, or Syo's life? He didn't want anyone to die. That was the whole point of going back in time.

To save Haruka. But to what extent?

"Natsuki!" Syo shouted, as Saizo threw another knife aimed at his skull. Syo ducked his head, and leaped back as another knife was known at his feet. Saizo laughed maniacally as he held a ball of fire in his hand like a snowball, his hand not even flinching at the heat.

Natsuki was too conflicted to even speak. Satsuki was already partially with him, but he too was still in control of his body. One wanted to kill Saizo without a second thought, while the other wanted to have peace and come down to an agreement—

"F*ck," Satsuki spat, as he tried to tear off the broken glasses from his face. But Natsuki held his hand in place, preventing him from taking it off. No. That couldn't be the answer.

"Syo!" Natsuki cried, as he took his friend's small body and threw it to the bushes. He knew he'd hurt him, but at least he wouldn't be vulnerable to Saizo. "Go! Run!"

"What!? No way!" Syo exclaimed with a twitching eye, as he rubbed his shoulder. "Sh*t, Natsuki! That hurt!"

"I F*CKING SAID _GO_!" Natsuki repeated with more force than he intended. It turned out that Satsuki was speaking, his face infuriated. He roughly turned around and sprinted to punch Saizo's face. Saizo, temporarily distracted from enjoying the yaoi show, took the blow, and his face twisted into a scowl.

"No, Shinomiya-san—" Haruka pleaded, but Saizo pushed her face to the ground, her nose scraped and bleeding. That triggered something even greater in Natsuki, who felt more power in his body.

Before Haruka completely lost conscious, she took the remaining strength within her to reach her hand up to Natsuki's shoulders and kissed him.

Natsuki's eyes widened. Syo was temporarily slack-jawed. Saizo's veins were boiling.

Then, Natsuki was glowing. He felt his power grow by a tenfold, his fists clenching even harder in his palms, his eyes a shade of bloody red, his body feeling like steel. With this, Natsuki picked up Haruka bridal-style and kicked a shocked Saizo in the stomach.

Then, he made a run for it.

Syo, looking forward, was the eyes of Natsuki's back running with his hand fisting Natsuki's fleeting shirt. "Natsuki!" he shouted. "Move my right!"

Natsuki trusted Syo. He had to. Saizo threw a ball of fire at him, and he swerved left, running faster. Haruka was so light, so pale, and so cold...

"Haruka!" Syo cried, his eyes tearing up at her face when he stole a glance at her condition. She was unconscious and limp, but he hoped that she wasn't dead. She was so frail, so innocent, so kind and beautiful. What made this Saizo think that she should've left this earth so soon?

"My left!"

Natsuki ran right.

The two managed to escape, or so they thought. They kept on running and Syo eventually wrapped his arms around Natsuki's neck and had a piggy back ride, looking back to check on when to dodge.

Haruka's eyes fluttered open for a second, as she whispered, "Shinomiya-san... Syo-kun..."

"HARUKA!" the two exclaimed, as Natsuki ran faster. Neither body on him felt heavy at all, with the power Haruka gave him. His hands were full, so he couldn't do anything to Saizo, so he thought of a way to give some of his power to Syo, but enough to carry both of their weights.

"Haru-chan, if you're still there," Natsuki said hurriedly, "can you tell me how I can give some of my power to Syo-chan?"

"_What!?_"

Haruka's eyebrows knitted together for a moment. Natsuki had no time to stop and think that that was cute. "You can't, Shinomiya-san..."

"Please, we need it! Tell us, how can we defeat Saizo!?"

"How..."

"_Haruka_," Natsuki pleaded, with Syo looking back at Haruka worriedly. "_Please_."

Haruka's eyes opened briefly to look at the two's desperate expressions. She smiled sadly at the two. "You can't... I'm sorry..."

Then, to the horror of Natsuki, his body was fading. _No_, he thought in dread. _No. It can't be. Not right now! Why now!?_

"Syo, I'm gonna disappear! So I'll leave you to take care of Haruka!"

"_WHAT?_"

"I'm sorry, both of you... I'm from the future to prevent your death, Haru-chan," he explained quickly with a sad look. "Syo-chan, I hope and pray that you can prevent her death and keep her safe. And be safe too, okay?"

Syo couldn't understand, but he knew that he didn't have time to wonder. With a quick nod, they ran to a shady spot surrounded by dark trees, and Natsuki kissed Haruka's cold forehead. "Stay alive, Haruka," he said with a smile. His eyes faded to a soft green, then turned to its original color. Satsuki combed back Haruka's bangs. "Don't die, you hear? Or else I'll kill you."

Haruka giggled a bit, before her head hurt more. Satsuki took his shirt to wipe off the blood.

"Remember, you. You have a purpose. Bail on us for Heaven and I'll drag you back down or even put you in hell."

"Oh... Okay."

Satsuki stood up, and pushed Syo down. "Save her."

"But I don't even know what sh*t's gone down just now—"

"Pretend you do." His eyes were so intense that Syo just sucked it up and nodded.

By this time, his body was almost gone. He could no longer be touched.

"I better see you both in the future," he grunted, before he disappeared.

* * *

"Natsuki, your glasses..."

"Eh?"

Natsuki looked up at Ittoki. "You're back," said Ittoki. He looked down sadly. "It's kinda weird, actually. We all still remember our previous attempts to save Haruka, but Syo is..."

_Syo!?_ "What happened to him!? Is he dead!?" Natsuki cried.

"N-No! _No!_" Ittoki laughed nervously. "He's fine. He's still alive, at least. Though, Nanami's still not here..."

"Oh." Natsuki looked down. "So Syo failed?"

"Well, yes and no," was his reply. "She died before him because she lost so much blood and energy. Syo said that he was burned by Saizo, but Nanami saved him. That was when she died. Syo was temporarily invincible, so he fled. We don't know about Saizo's whereabouts."

Natsuki sighed. He casually took off his glasses, which raised a flag in Ittoki. "Natsuki—!"

"It's fine," Natsuki said. "I can control—"

"She's f*cking dead. I'm gonna kill her by the time we bring her back."

Ittoki wanted to facepalm for a moment there. "Satsuki—"

"I'm not gonna f*cking stand here and be all petty with what happened."

"That's okay, Syo already explained."

Satsuki turned to see Tokiya. Tokiya sighed quietly, running a hand through his bangs. "Though, her death was still in the warehouse. That's strange, right? Kurusu said that it—"

"Hold on," Satsuki interrupted, "Redhead here just said another thing. He said that the girl died in the forest."

"No I didn't," Ittoki denied, shaking his head nervously. He was talking to Satsuki and his throat was not being strangled, so he was trying to keep it that way. "I said she died before Syo. They fled to the warehouse."

"Bullsh*t. That warehouse's too far away."

Tokiya shook his head. "It's true. According to Syo, Nanami-san told him to go to the warehouse."

"What for?"

"Who knows." Tokiya shrugged, before he pulled something from his pocket and held it out. It was a necklace with an acorn pendant.

Satsuki stared at it for a full minute before asking, "What the f*ck."

"Syo had it to give it to you from Nanami-san," said Tokiya with a vein throbbing on his head. "Take it now. I'm leaving to go next."

Ittoki, dazed for a while, shook his head briskly. "Tokiya? You can't go again!"

"I made up my mind. I'm saving her no matter what."

"But—!"

"But what?"

Ittoki hesitated, biting his lip. "Ren... he said he was going."

Tokiya paused. Neither he nor Satsuki expected to hear that.

"That flirty ass?" Satsuki questioned for clarification.

"Y... Yes?"

Tokiya and Satsuki exchanged glances. Then, Satsuki left to look for Syo. _That girl's still dead_, he thought angrily. _I'm gonna kill her for dying. What an idiot. She couldn't keep this one promise! Idiot! And she gives me this f*cking acorn_—

The acorn. He opened his hand, peering at it for a few moments. Then, he stomped to his room and smashed it, jolting the Natsuki out of him. Natsuki picked it up and sobbed.

But something glowed in the broken acorn. It was a sparkling teal speck, small and delicate, yet beautiful. For some reason, it reminded him of Haruka. "Haru-chan...?"

The light floated into the air, and Natsuki followed it, his footsteps silent. It led him to Cecil, who was about to greet him before noticing the speck, as it touched his necklace and caused it to glow very bright, blinding the both of them.

When the light ended, behold: music sheets were in Natsuki's hand, as he put on his glasses in an attempt to read them. The lyrics were already on the sheets. The note on the last sheet said, '_If you get this, I want you to know that Saizo's not bad. He's not. Give him the one thing he truly wants, and you can save me.'_

"Haru-chan..."

"Wait, you're Natsuki?" Cecil thought it was Satsuki, but shrugged and looked at the sheets. "Oh, Haruka's music. How did that happen—? What does it say?"

Natsuki wiped his tears that flowed again, looked up, and thought, _Haru-chan, hold on. We're coming to save you, because we can't live without you..._

_... because I love you._

* * *

**Mythia: You've unlocked an unseen ending: "Love Ignites." Because I can.**

**(Btw, did you see that Peter Pan reference there..? The acorn was a kiss? No? Okay.)**

**(Btw 2, did you see that RWBY reference there? The red eyes and starting off school with the Yang? 'Cause school hell's started? No? I'm starting to question what I did with my life here.)**

**AND YES I KNOW I RUSHED THE END I LITERALLY TYPED THAT IN LESS THAN FIFTEEN MINUTES OKAY YOU'RE WELCOME FOR UPDATING.**

**Anyways, Jingugi Ren is next. Oh boy. I purposely ignore him all the time in my writing because he's just not the kind of character I write often. He's suave, and I'm totes not. Totes.**

**Yeah I'm a hipster. Whatever that means.**

**Thanks y'all for reading and waiting! I hope you're still alive, 'cause I am lol. Just to annoy you, nyan~!**

**PSSH.**


	11. Jingugi Ren

**Mia: Listen guys, a lot of personal things happened. I'm not the kind of person who would blabber my life story, or my personal stuffs, so I just hope that you understand! Assume what you want :,D**

**Now, I changed my name, also because of personal stuff. I'm now Mythia-san! But I'm still Mia. In a way. I just thought that, you know, I shouldn't try to be someone I'm not. I'm not a very happy person, if you think that about me. And I'm telling you this because there's a big chance that my writing is gonna be affected because of my personal changes.**

**But um, despite having very little love for the last chapter, I suddenly felt selfish and greedy. Like most writers, I initially wrote because I loved to. I posted some of my works because I thought that I'd like some feedback to improve and feel good about myself (one or the other, I got both). Eventually, I was kinda tired of writing, but I still wrote for YOU guys. And while that sounds nice, it drains the writer and makes him or her start to hate writing. That's how I felt. With what was going on with my personal life, I even considered ending this account. It was too stressful to manage.**

**But you know? I didn't. Why? Well, at first it was because of the friends I made here. I was afraid that I'd do something I'd regret. And in some ways, I regret making this account in the first place. But in other ways, I'm glad that I did this, or else I'd be much more terrible at writing. Really.**

**Now, the reason that I'm sticking with this fanfiction writing business is the reason I started writing fanfiction to begin with - because I love writing.**

**And maybe one day, I'll grow to hate it again. The cycle will come again, and I'll be selfish and want reviews. But that's okay. It shows just how human I am, and it also shows that I can overcome that selfishness and write again with more passion than before. Maybe my love for writing will grow by tenfold! (Maybe.)**

**Thank you for those who take the time to review and even read this alone. I really appreciate it. And yes, I will continue it, not for you, exactly... but because I love to write. :)**

**(Sorry that was so long ._.)**

* * *

Ren stalled for a whole day. It wasn't because he wasn't as passionate as the others when it came to saving Haruka, _hell_ no - it was because he was afraid.

Yes, Jingugi Ren, the flirtatious STARISH boy band member, was afraid.

It wasn't what one would normally assume from this. He wasn't afraid because he thought that he'd get hurt or get his hands dirty. He wasn't afraid of making matters worse by hurting Haruka, no.

He was afraid because of the science that came with time traveling.

You see, Ren was fully aware that this was some sort of magical thing. He was going back in time because of the magical glowing rune that Cecil wore around his neck, as crazy as that sounded. But see! There were some supernatural elements that came with this time traveling ability, but there was also the science.

If he went back in time, that meant that he was from the future, which meant that he was not supposed to be there - which meant that whatever he did, from breathing different air than he did when he was the Ren at that time to walking a different direction, he was affecting the world and the people in it. It would be slight, but eventually, time would catch up to him and punish him.

He was not ready to screw with time.

One would think that Ren would be the last person to think about this. His mind was mostly heart, one would think. He'd let feelings drive his actions. But in fact, it was the opposite. Ren wouldn't hesitate to get his flirt on, but he was strategic about this. He considered other feelings to get them to attract to him. His charisma was backed up by his genius... ness.

But that proved that Ren had a mind, and that mind was thinking rationally. After all, he was in the S Class a billion years ago.

It was probably Hijikawa's fault (Even though he was in the A class, sucks for him). But Ren didn't blame others often, even if he pretended to out loud.

He often blamed himself for a lot of things, and that was something Haruka figured out surprisingly quickly. The fact that she understood Ren, even though she had never experienced the things that he had, made Ren like her. That made him possibly... _love_ her.

Know this: Ren would not throw love around as casually as one would think. He liked to satisfy women and make them happy - and their attraction to him just naturally came with it. But he was picky about the people he'd truly love and care about.

Because Nanami Haruka was one of them, Ren actually considered time traveling. Actually going into the forbidden parts of the world, which was anywhere but the present.

He could create a time paradox if he saved Haruka. For some reason, he suspected that he was the only one who thought of this and actually believed it. He thought that Tokiya and Masato would think about it, but they didn't seem to consider it at all. But then again, with a situation like this, Ren didn't think that STARISH's logic would rule over their emotion, their determination and desires of justice.

But it did for him!

How could he create a time paradox, you ask? Think about it. If Ren saved Haruka, meaning that Haruka didn't die that fateful day in May, then Haruka would be back in the present. No news would report her death, and so there'd be no reason to go back into the past to save her. It'd either be a loop or a time paradox, causing space to do whatever dance it did to destroy itself.

So yes, the Jingugi Ren, the flirtatious STARISH boy band member, was indeed afraid! And he had a very good reason to!

* * *

"Maybe I should go," Masato said.

"No. _I_ will go."

"You said that yesterday every hour, and yet here we are Ren."

Ren scoffed. "Have you not thought of the idea of time traveling? Many things could go wrong."

"You actually considered the possibilities," Masato deadpanned, internally surprised. That actually gave him a whole other outlook towards Ren, but he tried his best to hide any signs of it.

"But don't you want her here again, Ren?"

"I _do_, but..."

"Stop hesitating with that fear, Ren," Masato prompted, having enough of his rare cowardly side. "Remember - Cecil's rune is something beyond science. Perhaps the magic will cover whatever could happen if science triumphed time travel."

"Shut up, Masa," Ren grumbled, pacing around the room in little circles. Though, he did consider Masato's words. Maybe the magic _could_ cover it. Maybe if they saved Haruka, the world would revert itself to bright skies and happy smiles.

Ren's hand flew up to his face. "F*ck," he muttered.

After another go of internal turmoil and mental seizures, Ren stomped out of the room, only to find Cecil outside of his door, swinging the necklace in his hand. "Are you ready, Sir Jingugi Ren?" he asked for the twelfth time that day. "You're not going to chicken out and run away again, are you? Tokiya-kun has already offered to go back again."

Ren's answer was immediate. "_No_. Tokiya be screwed, _I'm going_."

"Not tomorrow, right?"

Cecil wore a challenging smirk. Ren did the same.

"No, silly Cesshi. I'm going now."

Masato heard their entire conversation, since the door was wide open. How stupid of Ren sometimes.

"Are you sure?"

"_I'm sure_."

"Alright then." Cecil chanted something, not even bothering to bring all of STARISH together to witness Ren's departure, and brought the rune to life once more to envelop Ren in its light and have him fade away into the past.

"Good luck, Jingugi," Masato muttered, flickering his eyes as the door loudly shut.

* * *

It was two days before Haruka's murder, according to the date glowing on Ren's phone.

And his luck couldn't have blessed him enough - Haruka was seated on the piano in front of him. Ren remembered sitting before one of her practice runs, listening to her melodious music as her fingers danced along the keys. It was comforting to hear her influential music once again.

It filled him with determination.

"Hey, Little Lamb," Ren prompted. He didn't realize how abrupt his voice was, as it sliced through the air and cut off the music completely. Ren was utterly surprised at this, since the usual Haruka would've kept playing while speaking to him, humming in response.

Haruka seemed so... anxious. Afraid. Guilt-stricken.

But why?

"Y-Yes, Jingugi-san?" she squeaked in reply. Ren cleared his throat.

"Are you all right? You don't seem like your usual self, and you haven't been lately," he said, trying to sound like the usual him and half-concerned. He stood up and walked closer to her, so he could speak a bit quieter. "Is there something bothering you?"

The composer blinked, unsure of what exactly Ren meant. No one asked her about this, and it startled her rather badly that Ren of all people would bring it up so suddenly.

She tried to compose herself, and managed to say without cracking her voice, "I'm alright, Jingugi-san."

"You've been... out a lot."

"Y-Yeah."

"Saotome hasn't given you permission to do that half of the time, you know."

Crap. That just slipped out of Ren's mouth, and Haruka's eyes were alarmed.

"Oh! Um, well, see that's..."

Ren reminded himself why he fell in love with Haruka in the first place, and calmed himself. He had a full three hours, and had spent not even a minute to find her, unlike the others. He was sure to bring her back in that plenty amount of time. Confidence swayed powerfully in his heart and mind, and he tried to be slick through this.

He leaned forward, lifting his large, sexy hand to push Haruka's petite chin up. Her eyes refused to meet his, and Ren feigned an impatient frown, searching into her wavering, hypnotic eyes.

"Look at me, _Haruka,"_ he spoke with all the suave he could muster while pulling it off naturally. He smirked when he felt her gulp and blush deeply.

Her hands flew up to his chest, gently trying to push him away, but Ren kept himself from shrinking away, not budging even a little. Haruka was growing desperate, pushing with more force, but that was nothing on Ren. In fact, he thought this scenario was a bit funny and ironic, with how she was pushing her small, delicate fingers into his lean abs.

"J-Jingugi-san, what - "

"Haruka," he silenced her. His voice was getting lower by the second, but his determination didn't falter in the slightest. "You must tell me what's wrong, or else none of us can do anything to help you. This might affect our music."

"Us? Our...?"

"STARISH, and you," Ren chuckled with a nod, feeling his smile reach up to his eyes. He hoped he was getting to her, even if by a little.

And, even though he said he wasn't scared of Saizo, he hoped not to see the b*stard's face.

"We're a team, and we cannot function without each other," Ren continued, being more gentle to cup Haruka's flustered face. Despite her face being pinkish, his fingers told him that she was freezing to the touch. He couldn't stop talking now. "If there's something wrong, you must tell me. Or else, tell one of us. Us as in STARISH. Us as in QUARTET NIGHT. Us as in Shibuya. Us as in the people you've touched."

_What a corny speech_, Ren thought with a mental airy chuckle. But Haruka still faltered, stepping back from his grasp. From the looks of it, she was overwhelmed, so Ren didn't push it.

"Jingugi-san," she whispered, barely being able to hear, "I know you mean well. But I just cannot tell you... it's too personal..."

"That's what 'us' is for. You have your best friend, your boss, your _family_ \- "

"I can't tell anyone, Jingugi-san! I cannot have you worried - " Haruka stopped, slapping her hands to her pale mouth. It used to be so pink and moist, but it was chapped and colorless.

Ren tried to remain calm. "Worried?" he repeated. _"Haruka."_

"I - I..." Her eyes were wide, her body trembling. Ren wanted nothing more than to embrace her scared form, but she stepped back whenever he advanced forward. She was afraid of _him_.

And that scared him more than he knew.

Perhaps, that was what he was afraid of all along. That in the end, even if he _did_ save Haruka, that she wouldn't be grateful, and would've wanted to die than to be back. His knowledge was becoming mushed all at once and yet it strung together in a senseless bond.

Whatever Saizo was doing to Haruka, it was affecting her character and who Ren knew her to be. And by all means, no way in hell was he going to allow that.

_Should I be the one to ask further... or should I get someone else involved to talk to her?_

* * *

**Mia: PLEASE READ!**

**Not much happened, I admit. But I've been writing my original novel for quite some time and it's a psychological novel, so... it just kinda bled into these pages here haha.**

**Voting time! Here's a hint: _of all things, remember Ren's fears... and that the narrator isn't to be fully trusted._**

**Will Ren:**

**1) Be the one and only one to reach Haruka (despite having plenty of time to explain the seemingly outstretched situation to someone else and having them to convince Haruka better)**

**OR**

**2) Ask for assistance from someone else to help Haruka (and risk the chances of affecting the present)**

**Thanks for reading! It really means the world to me.**


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